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Study links coffee consumption to metabolic health and sex hormones
- moojacob 1mo agoMaybe because the other way to get Caffine is in drinks full of corn syrup.
- llm_nerd 1mo agoThe study links it to better metabolic health. Did you assume it meant worse?
- bjt 1mo agoI think they're saying that coffee is a healthier habit than soda.
- KPGv2 1mo agoYes, my inference was "people consume caffeine, and if one group is getting it from coffee, the other group is getting it from non-coffee, mostly (highly-caloric) soda water, which explains why the coffee side looks healthier."
- nazgul17 1mo agoMakes sense, but I would hope the study design controlled for this, or designed around it.
- nemomarx 1mo agoYou can get corn syrup free monsters everywhere. Or those 5 hour ones, or Celsius or whatever. The reason to prefer coffee is that it tastes less aggressive than those I think
- BeetleB 1mo agoCoffee tastes more aggressive than all of those.
- KPGv2 1mo agoFor people who are already addicted to sugar, yes, coffee tastes more aggressive than the drinks full of insane amounts of sugar or artificial sweeteners. Meanwhile in Asia beans are considered sweet bc their food isn't overloaded with sugar.
- BeetleB 1mo agoIt sounds like you're equating "aggressive" with "sweet". Coffee has a very strong taste (even without sugar). Stronger than anything on the list. I'd wager that the reason some people add a lot of sugar is to make up for that strong taste. 5 hour energy drinks have almost no sugar. Much milder taste than coffee. > Meanwhile in Asia beans are considered sweet bc their food isn't overloaded with sugar. Red bean paste?
- plastic-enjoyer 1mo ago[flagged]
- rzzzt 1mo ago"Higher coffee consumption was linked to a more favourable glucose–insulin profile, higher concentrations of total and bioavailable testosterone, and increased levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG). At the same time, free testosterone and the free androgen index were modestly lower. In women, hormonal associations were more limited and were primarily characterised by higher SHBG and lower measures of free androgens." - Total testosterone = free + bound to albumin + bound to SHBG - Bioavailable testosterone = free + bound to albumin - Free testosterone = free (not bound to any protein) ...aaaand now I got a mild headache. Is this good or bad? Is this why the title says "links" and not "promotes" or "inhibits" or any other word with a concrete negative or positive connotation?
- zetazzed 1mo agoI'm a good target market for pro-coffee writing, but this is just an observational study of a drinks habit. No one in the general public should have any interest in studies of this kind. Maybe if you're deep in working in this research space it could help generate hypotheses for more meaningful research? But "we cross sectionally compared two groups with different behaviors and found they were different" is not really a result.
- andai 1mo agoTitle sounds terrible, but the effects are positive from what I understood?
- thih9 1mo agoNot effects, just observations, as the article also states.
- thih9 1mo agoObligatory reminder about correlation != causation, as indicated in the article itself: > However, as this was an observational study, the findings demonstrate associations rather than cause-and-effect relationships. More: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_cau...
- throwyonion 1mo ago[dead]
- KPGv2 1mo agoPeople don't need this reminder on Hacker News. Maybe on Reddit, but even there it's dogma repeated by damn near everyone.
- thih9 1mo agoAnd yet: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49304804 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49304804
- eiriklv 1mo agoHigh SHBG and lower free hormones isn't a good thing usually. Starving and anorexia (as an example) can make your SHBG levels skyrocket, resulting in low free hormone levels.
- winningChild 1mo ago[dead]
- unselect5917 1mo agoSomething I learned years ago: caffeine doesn't directly "wake you up" it merely causes a trickle of adrenaline release. So I'm guessing you could get the same boost from exercise, probably moreso. Anything that elevates the heart rate for a bit is generally good for humans.
- al_borland 1mo agoThe endless articles about studies that are pro-coffee make me highly skeptical. They all feel like advertising by the coffee industry to help coffee addicts feel good about their habit instead of feeling like they should cut back.
- smitty1e 1mo agoYou just have to mirror your consumption of coffee; eggs; meat &c with the aggregate study mood for a given week, is all.
- designerarvid 1mo agoEither point out weaknesses in the study, or dubious funding behind it etc. Or just stick with saying that you prefer tea.
- blinkbat 1mo agoAmishNews
- mc32 1mo agoOr possibly one of those who stick to only water.
- pazimzadeh 1mo agoit could be that coffee acts directly on the endocrine system as they suggest, or coffee allows you to work out longer (or work out at all since you don't want to sit still) which leads to the effects they observed I'm curious why they don't mention tea actually, are they suggesting it's not the caffeine that's doing it? granted recent studies showed decaf coffee has some benefits itself, so it could be some of the other compounds present in coffee, but a discussion of this would be useful
- askvictor 1mo agoDecaf still has caffeine; about 30% of the original from the bean iirc. Tea, as well as caffeine, has other compounds that are calming. And yes, there are plenty of other compounds in coffee, as well as purely psychological effects.
- throwaway2037 1mo agoHere is the original study: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-026-04038-z https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-026-04038-z Weirdly, I cannot copy text from that page. What am I doing wrong? Regardless, here is the result summary: > Higher coffee intake groups showed lower total and visceral fat and higher skeletal muscle mass, while BMI was comparable across groups. Inverse correlations were observed between coffee intake and circulating branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in both sexes. In men, higher coffee intake correlated with a more favourable glucose-insulin profile. Multivariable-adjusted models revealed a distinct hormonal pattern: positive associations with total testosterone (β = +0.29 nmol/L per cup/day), bioavailable testosterone, and sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), alongside inverse associations with free testosterone and the free androgen index (FAI). In women, hormonal associations were more limited, with positive associations for SHBG and inverse associations for free testosterone and FAI. This part: "positive associations with total testosterone (β = +0.29 nmol/L per cup/day)". For testosterone, 1 nmol/L ≈ 28.8 ng/dL. So: +0.29 nmol/L ≈ +8.4 ng/dL per additional cup/day. Really, this will have no meaningful impact on your health. It is widely discussed by TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) doctors that supplements that can increase your total test by 100ng/dL will have no meaningful impact. Literally, you need to drink 12 cups of coffee per day to get a ~100ng/dL improvement. You are going to have a lot of second order effects from drinking 12 cups of coffee per day! I would never recommend it.
- doubled112 1mo agoI often drink a 12 cup pot in a day. No noticeable effects. Why are coffee cups smaller than cups? Maybe I’m just slow, but it makes doing the mental math a lot more difficult than it needs to be. Maybe I just need more coffee.
- throwaway2037 1mo agoI cannot tell: Is this sarcasm? Really: That is not healthy to consume so much caffeine per day, unless you are drinking decaf. Depending upon your size of coffee, they are mostly 6-8 fluid ounces, or about 70-90mg of caffeine per "cup". Here is a quote that I found: > For most healthy adults, up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day—about four 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee or 10 cans of cola—is considered safe and not linked to negative health effects, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). There is absolutely no way that it is safe to "often" drink 12 cups of coffee per day.
- mococa 1mo agoOnly if it’s coffee from Brazil :-)
- derektank 1mo agoI wonder if the mechanism of action here is increased caffeine consumption resulting in more/longer duration/higher intensity exercise.
- asdfasgasdgasdg 1mo agoLove coffee, drink it every day. This study is just as useful as other studies that correlate coffee with negative outcomes. Which is to say, it’s a study that just shows some correlations. Causation is not particularly likely. Drink coffee if you like it but don’t expect health benefits or harms.
- BrandoElFollito 1mo agoI like coffee and drink about 5 to 7 Nespresso capsules a day. Except when I forget, or have no access to coffee. I did not notice any change between these two extremes.
- amelius 1mo agoI also drink a lot of coffee and I really hate it when I'm visiting a client and they offer me only 1 or 2 cups of coffee during the day!
- raddan 1mo agoPerhaps this is the sign of a true addict but I would never travel someplace new without a backup supply of coffee. I always at least bring instant coffee; if it’s a longer trip I might bring a portable grinder and aeropress.
- mawadev 1mo agoI have to say, initially coffee is good, but over time it chips away your sleep, your rest and then you kind of lose it. I have periods where I purposely decondition my body and brain from coffee just to reap the benefits again without all the longterm downsides. As always, it is about balance and moderation. I hope this helps you.
- AmazingEveryDay 1mo agoClicked article expecting the requisite "...in mice" but it turns out this could be legit!