Coffee may affect far more than alertness. New research suggests that both regular and decaffeinated coffee can alter the gut microbiome and may influence mood, stress, memory, and attention through the gut brain connection.
Scientists at APC Microbiome Ireland, a research center at University College Cork, investigated in detail how coffee may influence communication between the digestive system and the brain.
The study published in Nature Communications and sponsored by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), found that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee were associated with changes in the gut microbiome as well as differences in mood and stress.
How Coffee May Affect the Gut-Brain Connection
Scientists have long studied coffee for possible effects on digestion, mood, and overall health, but exactly how these effects arise has remained less clear.
The new research focused on the microbiota-gut-brain axis, the two-way communication system linking microorganisms in the digestive tract with the brain. Signals can travel between the gut and brain through immune activity, hormones, nerves, and chemical compounds produced by microbes.
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