I’m finishing up my first cup of coffee this morning while scanning the International Society of Sports Nutrition (ISSN) Facebook page and an article got my attention. The article: “Coffee Lengthens, While Caffeine Shortens Your Telomeres”. WHAT?? Telomeres? What’s a telomere and what does that have to do with drinking coffee and by doing so increases my chances of a longer life? Let me explain!

The article started off by stating that the evidence is strong and that a majority of studies indicate that the chronic consumption of coffee (even in amounts of 5 cups a day) has potential health benefits – at least in normal healthy individuals. Dr. Larry Tucker conducted a recent study and evaluated the relationship between caffeine intake and coffee consumption and Leukocyte Telomere length.

In this study it seems that coffee has the ability to lengthen Telomeres! Why is this important? Because the longer the Telomeres the healthier the cell. A DNA cell that is!! However, on the flip-side Caffeine has the ability to shorten these same Telomeres, which is not good for DNA cells. Now as we all know coffee contains caffeine (unless of course the coffee is decaffeinated), the good news is that one of the main active ingredients in coffee is chiorogenic acid and this all-important ingredient negates caffeine’s ability to shorten these same telomeres.

I am sure that you are aware there are other sources of caffeine other than coffee. The breakdown is as follows; (coffee 71%, soft drinks 16% and tea 12%). While coffee takes up the majority of the caffeine consumed in the USA, remember that when drinking soft drinks or tea, (as many people do) these two items do not contain the valuable ingredient that keeps caffeine from making the telomeres shorter; which again is chiorogenic acid.

Now what are telomeres? Telomeres are sections of DNA cells that are found at the end of each chromosome cell. They help protect each end of the chromosome cell by forming a cap, much like the plastic tip on shoelaces. If the telomeres weren’t there then our chromosomes would end up running into other chromosomes and that’s not good! To put this in very simple terms, when these telomeres shorten as they can do as we age, then DNA cell has a harder time being replicated and they age and die much sooner! The result of an aging cell is an aging body and the telomeres play an important role in helping to keep the cell healthy by not shortening! And the longer they are, the better!

One of the most important things to remember about Dr. Tucker’s study is that it adds to the evidence that your coffee addiction (if kept to less than 5 cups a day) will positively affect your telomere length and by doing so could then even have life-extending effects! Now I’m going for my second cup!

Chip Sigmon CSCS* D, USAW, CISSN, RSCC*E Wellness & Fitness Director, Europa Sports Products References:

1. Coffee Lengthens, While Caffeine Shortens your Telomeres: An Essential Paradox, SuppVersity-Nutrition and Science for Everyone

2. What is a Telomere? Yourgenome.org