There have been multiple studies to come out in the past few years finding a link between coffee consumption and better, more healthy aging. These studies are mostly observational, meaning they can establish a correlation but haven’t proven the underlying mechanisms. But now, a new study from the Texas A&M University has uncovered one of the potential pathways.
Recently published in the journal Nutrients, researchers examined the NR4A1 receptor, “a protein increasingly recognized for its role in aging, stress response and disease.” It also responds to compounds in things we eat and drink, thus allowing a means for our diets to control over health and aging, and prior research has found that NR4A1 activity results in positive effects relating to inflammation, metabolism, and tissue repair.
To understand how coffee interacts with the protein, researchers sought to determine which if any of the readily available compounds triggered the NR4A1. They found that it wasn’t just one compound in coffee but multiple, “particularly polyhydroxy and polyphenolic compounds such as caffeic acid,” that bind to the receptor and promote activity.
Researchers note the significance of this finding. It means that the health benefits of coffee are not reduced to its caffeine content and is in fact the result of multiple pathways. “There are many receptors and many mechanisms involved,” states one of the study’s authors Dr. Stephen Safe. “What we’re showing is that this could be one of the important pathways.”
While the full extent of coffee’s effect via the NR4A1 protein are not fully understood, the study provides something beyond mere observation; it offers one of the underlying mechanisms leading to all the many health benefits from consuming coffee.
Zac Cadwalader is the managing editor at Sprudge Media Network and a staff writer based in Dallas. Read more Zac Cadwalader on Sprudge.
