Do you love coffee and can’t imagine a day without this drink? But do you need to limit your caffeine intake? You can choose an alternative to traditional coffee and try decaffeinated coffee. You will be pleased to know that decaffeinated coffee is healthier than traditional coffee. And although we refer to it as decaffeinated coffee, it does contain a little caffeine.

What is decaffeinated coffee?

It’s a drink from which about 97 percent of the caffeine has been removed. The procedure involves soaking green coffee beans in water. A solvent-based method can be used to remove the caffeine, or the Swiss water purification process, which involves the use of osmosis and activated carbon or carbon dioxide extraction.

Benefits of decaffeinated coffee

Decaffeinated coffee contains powerful antioxidants that can help protect cells in the body from damage caused by free radicals. This is confirmed by a study published in the journal Medicine in 2021. You surely know that classic coffee can irritate your stomach. Decaffeinated coffee has a lower acidity, so it is much gentler on the stomach. It is clear that classic coffee is not exactly a good bedtime drink.

Decaffeinated coffee allows you to enjoy your coffee without disrupting your sleep cycle. Caffeine increases cortisol and adrenaline levels. These are stress hormones that can cause restlessness or anxiety. In addition, some people are more sensitive to caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee is a great choice for such people. It does not overstimulate the nervous system.

━━ ( Source: Nathan Dumlao /  Unsplash+ )

Diabetes and coffee

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease whose prevalence is increasing worldwide. As coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages in the world, its effect on various diseases, including diabetes, is being investigated. An inverse association between coffee drinking and diabetes risk was first reported in a Dutch population. Later, the finding was confirmed in most studies.

One of them claims that coffee consumption is inversely proportional to the risk of type 2 diabetes in a dose-dependent manner. Both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee were associated with a reduced risk of diabetes. The research involved more than one million volunteers who were observed from 10 months to twenty years.

Cardiovascular disease

Epidemiological studies have reported beneficial effects of regular coffee consumption on the incidence of arrhythmias, cardiovascular disease and mortality. Now researchers have examined the effect of different types of coffee. They focused on decaffeinated coffee, ground coffee and instant coffee. And what were the results? Decaffeinated, ground and instant coffee were all associated with a significant reduction in heart disease. Ground and instant were also associated with a reduction in arrhythmias; this was not the case with decaffeinated coffee.

Metabolic syndrome

Coffee is rich in phenolic acids such as caffeic or chlorogenic acid. A diet rich in polyphenols has been shown to reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. Research has shown that GCE supplementation containing 180 to 376 mg of CGA effectively reduced metabolic syndrome parameters. Specifically, waist circumference, glutamine levels, triglyceride levels, or blood pressure. Effects have also been demonstrated with decaffeinated coffee.