Can a simple cup of coffee with milk be enough to boost your immune system thanks to its anti-inflammatory effect? In any case, this is what emerges from the University of Copenhagen in the scientific journal Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry last January 30. If milk is often criticized for its harmful effects on digestion, the Danish researchers assure on the contrary that coffee with milk would be good for health thanks to its significant anti-inflammatory effect. Adding milk to his coffee would reduce inflammation on immune cells. Indeed, the combination of milk proteins and antioxidants in coffee doubles the anti-inflammatory properties of immune cells according to research from the University of Copenhagen.
Polyphenols are antioxidants found in coffee, but also in fruits and vegetables or red wine for example, help reduce oxidative stress in the body that leads to inflammation. The new Danish study chose to study the behavior of polyphenols when combined with amino acids, the building blocks of protein, contained in animal products such as milk. Indeed, few studies have investigated what happens when polyphenols react with other moleculeslike the mixed proteins in the foods we eat.
Coffee with milk: an inhibiting effect of inflammation on immune cells
The results have been promising. “In the study, we showed that when a polyphenol reacts with an amino acid, its inflammation-inhibiting effect on immune cells is enhanced. It is therefore clearly conceivable that this cocktail could also have a beneficial effect on inflammation in humans. Now we will continue to investigate, first on the animals. Then we hope to receive research funds that will allow us to study the effect on humans,” says Marianne Nissen Lund of the Department of Food Science, who led the study.
The researchers observed that immune cells treated with a combination of polyphenols and amino acids were twice as effective against inflammation than cells to which polyphenols alone have been added. “It is interesting to have now observed anti-inflammatory effect in cell experiments. Obviously, this has only made us better understand these health effects. So the next step will be to study the effects in animals,” says Associate Professor Andrew Williams from the Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences in the School of Health and Medical Sciences, who is also the lead author of the study.
An anti-inflammatory reaction between coffee polyphenols and milk proteins
Previous studies conducted by researchers have shown that polyphenols bind to proteins found in meat products, milk and beer. However, coffee beans are full of polyphenols, while milk is rich in protein.
“Our result shows that the reaction between polyphenols and proteins also occurs in some coffee drinks with milk that we have studied. In fact, the reaction is so rapid that it has been difficult to avoid it in the foods we have studied so far,” says Marianne Nissen Lund.
Coffee with milk: better absorption of antioxidant polyphenols
Drinking coffee with milk therefore helps to better absorb polyphenols and increase their anti-inflammatory effects. “Because humans do not absorb enough polyphenols, many researchers are investigating how to encapsulate polyphenols into protein structures that enhance their absorption into the body. This strategy has the added benefit of enhance the anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols”, explains Marianne Nissen Lund.