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Drinking filtered coffee rather than instant could slow down ageing, a new study suggests.
Researchers found that people who drank filtered coffee tended to show lower levels of biological age acceleration, while those who drank instant coffee showed higher levels.
The associations became stronger as consumption increased, with the largest effects seen among people drinking more than three cups a day.
The researchers wrote: ‘Filtered coffee was associated with decelerated biological ageing.
‘In contrast, instant coffee was linked to an accelerated risk of biological ageing.’
They suggested the differences may be linked to the way coffee is processed and its effects on inflammation and metabolism.
Filtered coffee may contain higher levels of compounds such as chlorogenic acid, which has been linked to anti-inflammatory and metabolic benefits.
Differences in compounds within the coffee and processing methods between instant and filtered could also help explain the contrasting findings.
New research has revealed that drinking filtered coffee rather than instant could slow down ageing (File image)
The researchers analysed health data from 49,414 adults with an average age of 56 and compared coffee-drinking habits to DNA changes linked to biological ageing.
The link between instant coffee and faster biological ageing was most noticeable among older participants, men and current smokers.
Instant coffee was only associated with an increase in biological age by around 0.1 to 0.2 years, the study’s authors noted, so had limited impact on the individual level.
However, the finding could have wider public health implications across large populations.
Writing in the journal npj Science of Food, the authors stressed that the observational research could not prove that coffee type directly causes changes in ageing.
They also noted that coffee-drinking habits are often linked to wider lifestyle and socioeconomic factors, meaning other influences may affect the findings.
Britons drink about 98 million cups of coffee a day, meaning the average coffee drinker has between two and three cups daily, according to the British Coffee Association.
About 80 per cent of UK households buy instant coffee, with people aged over 65 accounting for a significant share of demand.
