Caffeine and Longevity: Is Coffee Healthy for You? Dose, Timing and Genetics

00:00:00: So definitely the popular drug par excellence and that's highly individual, as you can see.

00:00:04: Caffeine is a very psychoactive substance ruining both REM sleep and deepsleep

00:00:09: And thats beautifully called A-D-O-R-A to A personalities That have to be extremely careful.

00:00:15: so You have more of this anxiety if your drink too much coffee.

00:00:18: There are also many studies say yes Coffee consumption protects against heart attack.

00:00:21: Thats only case for fast metabolizers But

00:00:24: there're other genes related To all these caffeine and tolerance.

00:00:32: Hello, and welcome to a new episode of Being Lifespan.

00:00:35: Hi Max!

00:00:37: Today we're talking about... ...a very common topic I'd say namely caffeine.

00:00:43: And people underestimate it because caffeine is actually a very psychoactive substance Just like nicotine for example.

00:00:51: We already did an episode on nicotine.

00:00:53: It's also the most widely used psychoactive substances in the world.

00:00:57: If you look at how many people drink coffee We just tried to reconstruct during preparation who in our office here doesn't drink coffee.

00:01:05: In fact, it's like this.

00:01:07: you looked up the number right?

00:01:08: In Germany, uh, ninety two percent probably drank coffee and sixty eight percent

00:01:16: daily.".

00:01:17: Right so I... The question would still be a bit how are these ninety-two percent defined?

00:01:22: does that mean i drank coffee once in my life?

00:01:24: most people have probably tried at ones And then immediately thought just like I did right coffee.

00:01:31: That's it tastes terrible You can't drink it.

00:01:33: and i only started drinking coffee in College, not at the beginning of college Like middle-of-college around twenty and i started with small Espresso Holding my nose because i thought well It keeps you awake?

00:01:46: And i find espressos to have a very unpleasant taste.

00:01:51: Still do.

00:01:51: i still don't drink espresso but usually Just a cappuccino or an americano.

00:01:55: But yeah, I have acquired a taste for it now and drink because i think its good.

00:02:04: It's also the main ingredient in coffee.

00:02:06: there are of course many other substances that we want to talk about caffeine today.

00:02:12: Caffeine itself is a psychoactive substance.

00:02:15: what else can you say?

00:02:18: Yeah, what else is there to say about caffeine?

00:02:21: so I have a few statistics with me of course.

00:02:24: actually Germany Is even the leader in coffee consumption?

00:02:28: In Europe.

00:02:29: So we haven't been world champions in a long time But and were getting worse than the Olympics too.

00:02:35: but We drink the most coffee.

00:02:37: With beer, I think we've slipped too.

00:02:39: Austria is holding up quite well there.

00:02:41: so when it comes to beer and alcohol and smoking, Austria's unfortunately very far ahead.

00:02:47: So exactly

00:02:47: that is definitely the popular drug par excellence.

00:02:52: It's a very small molecule its water and fat soluble which isn't necessarily classic but... ...it is definitely versatile.

00:02:58: because of that When you drink it, you reach its peak level after about thirty to sixty minutes.

00:03:05: So absorption is relatively fast I would say.

00:03:08: and the interesting thing also that can cross a blood-brain barrier And It Can Also Cross The Placental Barrier.

00:03:14: so also quite good To Know.

00:03:16: i think especially if You're A Heavy Coffee Drinker That You Might Want To Hold Back A Bit During Pregnancy At Least.

00:03:22: Yes Exactly Because That Goes And Caffeine.

00:03:27: So blood-brain barrier makes total sense, that's why it is a psychoactive substance.

00:03:32: Crossing the placenta is also exciting and its very often said when mothers are breastfeeding.

00:03:37: they shouldn't drink too much coffee either because this caffeine then found in milk And small children of course affected by the caffeine don't fall asleep as well or active longer.

00:03:51: That's also something that should be taken into account because the core mechanism behind caffeine is actually adenosine.

00:03:58: So it's adenosin mediated, you can imagine like this in the morning

00:04:04: our

00:04:04: adenosins level relatively low and then accumulates over course of day when we have enough adenosines which can bind to its receptors than we get tired right?

00:04:18: over the course of day, relatively evenly you could say.

00:04:22: Get stronger and caffeine is simply an antagonist... ...of this adenosine in a sense that it binds to the receptor of adenosin.. ..and does nothing there!

00:04:35: It simply blocks it but also as they said reversibly.

00:04:38: so we can clear again which has been broken down over time.

00:04:41: logically What do you perhaps about sleep pressure mediated by adenosins?

00:04:47: If you had a really bad night, then not all of the adenosine was necessarily cleanly broken down.

00:04:53: Right?

00:04:54: So you might start today with much higher adenosin level and we'll certainly talk more about that later.

00:05:01: how sometimes build up sleep debt through coffee because simply block the receptor.

00:05:10: in the end more and more it accumulates.

00:05:12: if don't drink the coffee feel worse Exactly, and yeah in the end if this receptor is blocked.

00:05:22: Yeah The adenosine can't bind.

00:05:23: at the end you feel less tired Less sleep pressure.

00:05:27: At the same time This also releases a bit more dopamine and norepinephrine.

00:05:31: that means You have a bit More power again Feel A bit fitter Can perhaps Also solve problems better Again be more creative again.

00:05:38: so all So many positive things But only If the whole thing Is somewhat balanced

00:05:45: Exactly.

00:05:45: And then there are a few other effects, so besides this pure blockade of these adenosine receptors which is very important for the sleep-wake dynamic neurotransmitters also indirectly boosted especially dopamine and norepinephrine.

00:06:00: we actually did an interesting episode on dopamine once.

00:06:03: I think it's about the reward center feeling addiction too with hot topic like social media right where Social media ban is currently being discussed in many countries, including Austria for people fourteen or sixteen and older.

00:06:20: They're not entirely sure about that yet.

00:06:23: And what also happens?

00:06:25: these adenosine receptors.

00:06:26: they are the A to a receptors there kind of distributed throughout The whole brain right?

00:06:32: In some areas their bit denser.

00:06:34: in some areas There are a bit less dense and very exciting region in the brain Is also the striatum.

00:06:41: You don't have to memorize that, but it's especially important for Parkinson's disease.

00:06:45: Parkinson's is this disease where you start to shake.

00:06:48: That's called having a tremor.

00:06:50: It also has very specific frequency so you shake In the certain range per second.

00:06:58: I find that fascinating too.

00:06:59: actually how can often tell if its Parkinson or some other kind of tremor?

00:07:08: And that starts in the striatum?

00:07:10: and they found out this blockade of these A-II Rosé receptors, which is what caffeine does.

00:07:16: Is also to some extent preventative for Parkinson's disease.

00:07:22: So I found it really interesting too drinking coffee so you don't get Parkinson's later.

00:07:26: And Parkinson's is incredibly common just like Alzheimer's right?

00:07:30: a lot people are affected by it.

00:07:32: We'll get to that later because there's a very, very small catch when we get to genetic makeup with fast metabolizers and slow metabolizers.

00:07:40: That one group benefits particularly well in.

00:07:44: Parkinson's is incredibly common just like Alzheimer's right?

00:07:46: So A lot of people are affected by it will Get To that Later Because There Is Very Small Catch When We Get To Genetic Makeup With Fast Metabolizers And Slow Metabolizers.

00:07:56: That One Group Benefits Particularly Well.

00:08:00: It's unfortunately a bit unfair, but in the end that also explains why there are so many studies.

00:08:05: I feel like big study comes out every year and one says oh drinking coffee is great right?

00:08:10: Drinking coffee makes you healthier.

00:08:12: drink two to five or two four cups of coffee day And You'll Live Longer Have Fewer Cardiovascular Diseases.

00:08:18: Then Another Study Comes Out That Says No Not At All.

00:08:20: There Was No Effect Right?

00:08:22: I don't know of many studies that say it's harmful.

00:08:25: It depends on the subgroup.

00:08:26: again, if you tolerate caffeine very poorly and slam down an espresso at seven

00:08:30: p.m.,

00:08:30: maybe not so smart because it ruins your whole sleep architecture then your sleep gets worse than you'll.

00:08:36: definitely die sooner get diseases earlier.

00:08:39: i think thats a relatively solid connection but this individual perception.

00:08:47: They also provide an explanation and a basis for all these positive, and also for all this negative effects.

00:08:53: That's still very relevant I'd say.

00:08:58: It's the nuances!

00:08:58: And what... ...I find interesting is to look at caffeine isn't just in coffee but mainly not only right?

00:09:07: And in the end it doesn't say much if I tell you i drink three cups of coffee a day.

00:09:11: If your drink three cup of coffee today well what kind of coffee do you drink?

00:09:14: is that an espresso is at a cappuccino.

00:09:16: how many beans to set on our coffee machine here in the office is one three four and so on and so forth, in teas, and some teas too.

00:09:35: People mostly know black tea I think right which also contains caffeine And we can look at that a bit.

00:09:41: i'll start with the classic coffee products and drip.

00:09:45: coffee has an average caffeine content of let's say one hundred milligrams of caffeine per cup.

00:09:52: That's like a two hundred forty to two hundred fifty millilitre cup.

00:09:55: An espresso which is only a very, very small amount of water has lower caffeine content.

00:10:01: You might not think so right?

00:10:02: Because many people drink espresso and think okay now I've given myself really high dose of caffeine.

00:10:07: usually an espresso has about sixty to seventy milligrams of caffeine because that has do with the amount liquid.

00:10:14: if you have more water there's also more opportunity.

00:10:17: extract the caffeine from beans Concentrated but still in the end you only have thirty forty milliliters or fifty depending.

00:10:27: You can also adjust that on modern coffee machines and then The caffeine content is just a bit lower, how's it with teas?

00:10:36: Yeah tease I'd say tend to always be a bit slower.

00:10:40: But even there i mean In the ends Just like its the bean with coffee.

00:10:45: And literally how many beans are put into?

00:10:48: So what strength do we select?

00:10:50: Where I always select the lowest and i think you do like two or three.

00:10:54: Yeah, im kind of in middle.

00:10:55: You're kinda in the middle exactly.

00:10:57: that's also healthy.

00:10:58: In any case with tea id claim it tends to be lower but its hard say even there can very high again.

00:11:04: So if u look at matcha which is a concentrated tea so in end concentrated green tea powder.

00:11:11: There it depends on the variety again of course and that can actually fluctuate super crazily between forty, one hundred thirty milligrams per cup.

00:11:18: Again a large normal cup about two hundred fifty milliliters.

00:11:22: And yeah just fluctuates enormously.

00:11:26: but the advantage here is probably also why most people don't get such strong push feeling from it Is there still a lot of L-theanine in it?

00:11:38: kind of smooths out this effect and you just don't feel as jittery or somehow cold, sweaty.

00:11:44: Or whatever.

00:11:45: those negative effects of caffeine can be.

00:11:47: that's just a bit more pleasant with matcha or green tea in general And is mainly caused by the substance.

00:11:53: but it can justice easily Be That You Still Just Downed One Hundred Milligramms Of Caffeine.

00:11:59: Then You Would Say

00:12:00: Exactly There Is With This So El Theanine.

00:12:03: You Described It Nicely.

00:12:04: You Can Imagine Like This Caffein Actually Causes A Rise In Blood Pressure.

00:12:08: The vessels constrict a bit, right?

00:12:10: And you get.

00:12:10: it also ensures this very classic alertness.

00:12:13: But the heart rate also increases and some people depending on how well you tolerate caffeine Also gets slight tremor or are really jittery and hyper.

00:12:23: and L-theanine kind of smooths that out because its just counterweight for heart rate blood pressure but without making you tired Right!

00:12:29: That's why I call it relaxed alertness.

00:12:34: In that respect, yeah, matcha is already

00:12:37: The

00:12:38: viable alternative.

00:12:40: so much matcha was being drunk worldwide that in Japan they couldn't keep up with production That you don't even have on your radar.

00:12:48: It's a very complex production process.

00:12:50: to write these leaves They have to be specially dried and you always need this lead time of.

00:12:56: I think it was a year.

00:12:57: You have one harvest the year, right?

00:12:59: Exactly exactly.

00:13:00: And but then you also need This here too.

00:13:03: let the leaf dry and store it especially so that in the end you can also grind this matcha powder.

00:13:11: So,

00:13:12: yeah... It's crazy!

00:13:12: I mean.. The trend is obviously there in the cafes And then you'll see how now various protein manufacturers are bringing out matcha protein.

00:13:21: Those are unbelievable amounts being sold right?

00:13:25: just one cafe or two cafes in Munich that are now offering matcha, but these are huge corporations.

00:13:31: That our pushing.

00:13:32: this is much a powder out.

00:13:34: so it's really crazy.

00:13:35: what kind of industry has developed there?

00:13:37: Now you also hear again and again the delivery difficulties are enormous um... And at the deliveries also take really long.

00:13:43: uh..That's really really crazy.

00:13:45: well next step black tea.

00:13:48: You would think its much much stronger than green tea.

00:13:50: It not necessarily.

00:13:51: So actually in similar range.

00:13:53: your also tend to be at about fifty milligrams on average, right?

00:13:57: So also very similar.

00:13:59: You still have these Theoflavens in there... In the end it's something relatively similar and they also stimulate in a different way but also smooth things out a bit.

00:14:08: that means black tea is probably more tolerable without high amounts of L-theanine in this case.

00:14:16: Then what I think was quite interesting for us which we didn't really have on our radar even if you've heard before i think But you always forget dark chocolate.

00:14:24: There is also, if you eat a whole bar.

00:14:27: Also it's actually like a cup of coffee right?

00:14:30: Yeah exactly I mean we found slightly different...I'll call it quantity ranges.

00:14:35: sometimes It was something in the range of forty fifty.

00:14:39: Sometimes it was also twice as high right?

00:14:41: Ninety to one hundred.

00:14:43: That probably also depends on the cocoa variety i guess.

00:14:46: Right We couldn't fully resolve that either And were talking about an amount of one-hundred grams.

00:14:51: So one hundred grams Thats'a whole bar.

00:14:54: You really have to eat a whole bar, too.

00:14:56: Get into the range of an espresso for example?

00:15:00: But yeah exciting you don't have it on your radar right because he doesn't say so on it.

00:15:04: It's a cabinet is

00:15:04: eaten in a hole Bar of dark chocolate.

00:15:08: Yeah So I saw seventy percent Is okay Right i can still eat that but anything beyond That.

00:15:13: i struggle so much with The taste.

00:15:15: but

00:15:15: A whole bar?

00:15:16: Have you ever eaten a Whole bar?

00:15:17: No, I've definitely eaten a whole bar before.

00:15:19: I mean milk chocolate even more than the whole bar... ...I do have bit of sweet tooth as i said quite few times and hope

00:15:25: you slept well afterwards.

00:15:26: yeah that was definitely at lunch time classic dessert time at lunch so fit quiet.

00:15:33: what else there is?

00:15:34: this Guarana powder thats known so guarana often in energy drinks.

00:15:39: also these mate teas sold.

00:15:42: There's also Guaranna in their also very high in caffeine, that's why it is so appreciated by students.

00:15:49: When you think back to university days everyone or half the library was full of people who had a mate standing next their laptop because they were supposed keep awake as an alternative for coffee.

00:16:00: and it tastes good like a soft drink.

00:16:04: but caffeine based Energy drinks also sometimes have a lot of caffeine, shouldn't be underestimated.

00:16:11: A can like that usually two hundred fifty milliliters.

00:16:13: eighty to one-hundred milligrams right?

00:16:15: That already rivals the drip coffee... Milligrams!

00:16:17: Sorry.

00:16:17: Thank you.

00:16:18: Rivals.

00:16:18: so a drip coffee has around one hundred milligrams.

00:16:21: So in that respect it's really large amount of caffeine and its not healthy.

00:16:27: anyway It has all kinds of other bad stuff.

00:16:32: In the end, that's something you're best off staying away from.

00:16:36: Chewing gum also exists of course.

00:16:39: Milligrams?

00:16:39: Yeah it actually comes in all shapes and sizes.

00:16:41: but what maybe even crazier are their pre-workouts.

00:16:44: they often very high in caffeine like two hundred milligrams

00:16:47: Exactly tablets!

00:16:49: It goes up to four hundred right.

00:16:51: so I mean... Four cups of drip coffee in one serving of pre workout.

00:16:56: You can't really wonder if you could go wild on a gym.

00:17:00: One point, I also wrote down decaf coffee.

00:17:02: That's something it might say decaff on it but even a cup of decaffe coffee still has something in the range from two to fifteen milligrams.

00:17:09: that means its not completely caffeine free.

00:17:12: Also be careful if you drink it at night or think your only drinking decafe because you can't tolerate caffeine.

00:17:20: If you drank ten cups of de-caffe You've already had a drip coffee drunk Like a really strong cup of coffee.

00:17:30: So be a bit cautious there too.

00:17:34: and the point about medication.

00:17:36: many Many headache pills or cold tablets.

00:17:40: they have in addition to the active ingredient which is usually acetaminophen Also caffeine in them, and that's because the effect is multiplied.

00:17:49: when you take caffeine together with an NSAID or with acetaminophen, then that pain relieving effect is also enhanced.

00:17:58: That's actually also in a fact of caffeine per se.

00:18:01: That why it's also relatively popular among athletes will get to that later but exactly.

00:18:07: Also be careful there.

00:18:08: if you Take these pills In the evening You shouldn't be surprised If you Then don't sleep as well right especially headache pills in The Evening at eight PM before ten p.m before going to bed so that you can sleep well afterwards, then it's best to take something that doesn't have caffeine in it.

00:18:24: So that you also get a restful sleep.

00:18:27: and all foods with coffee flavoring ice cream or tiramisu or coffee flavored yogurt they usually also have a significant amount of caffeine due to this coffee concentrate.

00:18:41: Be careful there!

00:18:42: Or if you eat tiramisu coffee ice cream like all kinds of sweets with a coffee flavor, children then watch out.

00:18:53: There can be caffeine in there too and just don't do it at the evening.

00:18:56: that's most important thing you had with decaf coffee.

00:18:59: I skipped another small important insight when it comes to the topic of contamination.

00:19:08: yeah so i mean generally this mold debate with coffee.

00:19:13: maybe not everyone has heard about.

00:19:15: Generally speaking, they say that it's tendentially worse with decaf coffee.

00:19:20: So you have more mold fungi in this coffee... ...more residues of it so more mycotoxins like residues toxins from the mold.

00:19:31: Why?

00:19:32: Because the plant produces caffeine to protect itself against pests and That's just less in decaff coffee also in all the production processes And accordingly There's often simply more.

00:19:45: They are more mycotoxins in here.

00:19:47: The problem with these mycot toxins is simply that they then cause a certain autoimmunity That can manifest as mild inflammation, maybe like increased allergies Very very subtle.

00:20:00: So yeah you shouldn't drive yourself crazy over it but It's definitely tendentially worse than decaf coffee Tendentially.

00:20:08: Another quick fun fact, the lethal dose of caffeine.

00:20:13: It's enormously high so that's like one hundred fifty to two hundred milligrams per kilogram of body weight.

00:20:18: That means The two of us would have to drink somewhere in the range of One hundred ten cups of coffee a day.

00:20:25: then we'd probably feel pretty weird But exactly just as I know before.

00:20:31: but Then there and Probably the last podcast episode we had together just as a side note.

00:20:37: So I'll say that dosage range is much, much broader now are really exciting topic.

00:20:44: We both did a genetic test.

00:20:47: Very nice because with every topic we talk about there's always a small Genetic basis That says something about whether you tolerate it well or poorly?

00:20:57: Whether you metabolize it quickly or slowly.

00:21:00: What does it depend on there and how does it look for you?

00:21:03: Exactly.

00:21:03: So first of all, there are various genes that are somehow related to it.

00:21:07: when it comes to pure caffeine metabolism so the breakdown of caffeine we have a gene that codes for that net C Y P one A two um And that yeah There are different versions of it.

00:21:21: You can either be AA I won't go deeper into That or you Can Be CC Or AC.

00:21:27: If your AAA Your Fast Metabolizer If you're A, C. You are in the middle right?

00:21:32: In between already a bit slower and with CC your slow metabolizer And that's of course very interesting because then it also takes significantly longer for coffee to be broken down into body.

00:21:44: That is just highly individual as you can see.

00:21:46: The fast metabolizers I think we wrote about forty percent or fifty percent.

00:21:51: So actually quite alot who were in-between Thats another forty to forty five percent.

00:21:56: Then you have the slow metabolizes who are at about ten to fifteen percent.

00:22:01: So not actually that many, but of course those people have to be extremely careful because they really shouldn't drink coffee after I don't know eleven-twelve o'clock under any circumstances Because there's simply still notice a difference in their sleep architecture.

00:22:17: But now it is just CYP one A two.

00:22:20: In this case i'm fast metabolizer which never would've thought.

00:22:26: But there are also other genes that I related to all this caffeine and tolerance.

00:22:31: And as another very central one you look at up nicely yesterday, it's basically the most Central One for Tolerance.

00:22:37: how sensitive uR to it Also when he comes to sleep.

00:22:41: It is beautifully called A D O R a two-a.

00:22:46: You can be set up differently There.

00:22:48: thats also AA and CC and cc Is also the worst version just like with Metabolizer with CYP one A two and if you have the worst version then it's just that You can also be a fast metabolizer, but still caught the caffeine.

00:23:04: The coffee has a much stronger influence on your sleep And especially on your shakiness On how you simply feel afterwards.

00:23:10: so you have more of this anxiety More of this uneasy feeling.

00:23:14: If you drink too much coffee?

00:23:16: You have to be much more careful.

00:23:18: Even though you actually break down the caffeine very quickly you still have you know more issues.

00:23:24: These people also have to be a bit more careful and especially make sure they don't drink too much at once.

00:23:29: They can gladly drink two cups, spread out over the day but there has to be certain gap in between because otherwise you'll notice that this is simply too much.

00:23:38: And I am actually right here, punished in turn... ...I'm very sensitive so i really noticed it completely.. ..i was even surprised by my fast metabolizer as well and especially get very shaky, very quickly.

00:23:55: And always thought that was because I'm a slow metabolizer.

00:23:57: but no it turned out i am fast metabolizer.

00:24:01: two points on the typical half-life of caffeine is five hours.

00:24:06: That means if you're a fast metaboliser It can be quicker.

00:24:10: If your'e a slow metabolism it take twice as long.

00:24:13: You know?

00:24:14: Thats how you calculate window when should maybe have my last coffee so that.. I still sleep well at my bedtime, which could be nine ten eleven in the evening.

00:24:26: You can kind of you know figure it out based on that.

00:24:30: this adora two-a gene is also exciting because yeah slow and fast tell you a bit about the rate of breakdown but depending um, to caffeine so that you might be a fast metabolizer.

00:24:46: But because of this AD or a two A gene which codes for this adenosine receptor we haven't even mentioned that yet You can sleep incredibly poorly.

00:24:55: Um not even tolerate caffeine and start shaking after just one espresso.

00:25:00: If you stretch your hand out straight like this And then you see your hands start to shake slightly That's not because you have an underlying condition in most cases I'll just say but simply Because you don't tolerate caffeine.

00:25:11: well You have to listen to your body a bit.

00:25:14: And if that's the case, you don't have to give up caffeine completely but you can try teas like we said with green tea or black tea or drinking matcha instead of coffee simply because they still contain those calming substances like L-theanine and so on.

00:25:28: EGCG is also in there.

00:25:31: I found it very interesting.

00:25:33: We talked at the beginning about studies.

00:25:35: They don't agree on whether coffee is good for longevity, bad for longevity or simply doesn't matter for longevity.

00:25:42: And it turned out that people who have the AA genotype so really only these fast metabolizers they are generally The People Who benefit from caffeine when It comes to life span When it comes to cardiovascular diseases like a heart attack you know.

00:25:59: So there Are also many studies That say yes Coffee consumption protects against A Heart Attack.

00:26:05: that is actually only the case for fast metabolizers and not for slow or intermediate metabolizes.

00:26:12: That's a very important distinction, so if people have reduced enzyme capacity genotype AC or CC then caffeine is bad.

00:26:25: If you drink too much of it than can even increase risk.

00:26:27: I found to be interesting distinction when it comes to caffeine consumption Now, because that's actually let's say a rough fifty-fifty split.

00:26:39: Because forty-forty five percent are fast metabolizers and everyone else would then fall into this quote unquote no longer protective category if not worse category.

00:26:50: Totally yeah.

00:26:51: I mean it makes sense in a way that slow or intermediate metabolizer just has to be extremely careful Not to consume caffeine too late because It will simply have such A strong impact on their sleep.

00:27:03: And the funny thing is that people often don't even notice, it's having an effect.

00:27:07: You still fall asleep somehow but you just don't sleep well and get restful sleep... ...and then you might carry around with for twenty years not realize at all that you slept poorly because It was normal!

00:27:19: You had a coffee at three p.m every day.

00:27:23: I think in the end its probably mostly due to this sleep issue Even if thats just guess

00:27:29: Totally.

00:27:30: I mean, if you end up sleeping poorly because you drink a coffee at eight PM then you'll definitely die sooner simply because your sleep gets so disrupted and you have such a worse quality of sleep.

00:27:41: Your hormones can't regenerate anymore And caffeine ruins both REM sleep.

00:27:50: That's why you shouldn't really have it in your system when you go to bed in the evening and actually want to sleep.

00:27:57: You know, I mean It might be okay if you occasionally Have a lot of work are in college or in school And still have to squeeze a lot in the Evening and want to stay awake But you can't expect To have a particularly restful Or good sleep afterwards?

00:28:11: You Know especially when it comes to when he comes to studying That's also processed during sleep.

00:28:15: So maybe the coffee at eight p.m.. Isn't so smart and it's better to study an hour less and instead Create a better foundation, so that it can be encoded.

00:28:25: And then apart from these genetic factors there is much more than this CYP one A two and This ADO our a-two a that we've discussed.

00:28:33: those are the best known and most important.

00:28:36: There are several other genes that partly determine the sensitivity, but there also many lifestyle factors.

00:28:42: And I found this very interesting.

00:28:44: for example because smoking causes you to break down caffeine faster so it practically induces this CYP- one A two probably also because of the whole detox program then runs in This CYP one A two, which is this cytochrome P system as a very classic detox system in the body.

00:29:06: And when you smoke caffeine has actually broken down drastically faster.

00:29:12: if you take the pill at the same time for women meaning oral contraceptives that doubles the half life.

00:29:21: I wasn't aware of that before either.

00:29:23: so If You Use The Pill For Contraception.

00:29:25: As Woman Then you also have to be very careful with caffeine because it causes the half-life to double.

00:29:30: You know, then five hours become ten hours and then the window where you can have your last coffee quickly becomes late morning depending on when you go to sleep.

00:29:40: What Also Causes an Extension of The Half Life Is Grapefruit Juice That Extends The Half life By About Thirty Percent Alcohol Consumption.

00:29:50: So If You Drink An Espresso Martini There's Coffee In There.

00:29:53: there is also alcohol in there.

00:29:55: That also extends the effect of caffeine.

00:29:57: It simply extends this alertness affect that you get from caffeine and pregnancy, so pregnancy in the third trimester meaning the last third of pregnancy... ...that also causes a massive extension of the caffeine half-life up to fifteen plus hours.

00:30:15: I found that incredible just tripling the half life.

00:30:19: it's almost best to either only drink coffee in the morning or no coffee at all so that you don't extend.

00:30:26: this is half life.

00:30:27: So much, That's really a massive increase.

00:30:31: and if you eat cruciferous vegetables I forgot to mention earlier that broccoli cabbage then also slightly shorten the half-life but not as much with smoking.

00:30:42: those are let say lifestyle factors should keep mind especially the pill because it's still so common for women to use the pill for contraception and a doubling of the half-life.

00:30:54: As I said, then you can only have your last coffee around eleven hundred or twelve hundred.

00:30:58: if you want to go to sleep at ten hundred

00:31:01: could also be the reason for sleep problems You know?

00:31:04: So much more often than you might think caffeine is simply the reason that shouldn't be forgotten.

00:31:10: Yeah exactly Did

00:31:12: i forget anything?

00:31:14: when it comes too fast or slow metabolism

00:31:16: We can go deeper into that, we get even wilder.

00:31:18: There are also medications that speed it up.

00:31:21: What many in the performance entrepreneurship know is modafinil.

00:31:24: That's a substance basically which stimulates dopamine Which makes you more awake and creative and ideally focused.

00:31:34: It was actually developed for narcolepsy And now partly used as a DHD Because these people who take it regularly will certainly also drink a lot of coffee and can certainly tolerate better.

00:31:50: So not so bad, but I mean there are numerous things you know.

00:31:55: what would have interested me.

00:31:56: their which i unfortunately didn't look up yesterday is whether nicotine itself has this effect because apparently In this case that we had picked out, it was only tobacco smoke itself with all its toxins.

00:32:08: You know whether nicotine...

00:32:10: That would have been my educated guess too because the detox system ramps up anyway.

00:32:15: That's actually a linear development The more you smoke the faster the caffeine is metabolized.

00:32:22: Yeah yeah that's actually awesome right?

00:32:25: Maybe you have to start smoking after all and then you get rid of the jitters from caffeine.

00:32:30: You can

00:32:30: only have the jitter's from The withdrawal symptoms off of smoking.

00:32:34: exactly let's cut that out,

00:32:36: exactly

00:32:37: Exactly very good

00:32:39: Exactly.

00:32:39: if we dive a bit deeper into this effect corner what caffeine actually does.

00:32:44: Then I already said hey?

00:32:46: You have these direct cardiovascular effects.

00:32:48: That means blood pressure goes up heart rate goes up.

00:32:52: We also already mentioned that neurotransmitters are released, noradrenaline dopamine adrenaline in the end.

00:33:06: That's why people drink it at work and also during sports is also relevant.

00:33:14: It improves reaction time and vigilance And vigilance is also this attention span, this ability to react during very long attention spans so that you can still react to changes.

00:33:25: Working memory gets better – That means you can work more productively and complete tasks faster.

00:33:30: In that respect, caffeine already looks exciting!

00:33:33: How does it look with sports?

00:33:34: You actually feel….

00:33:37: Well first of all we have motivation as well which is an important factor because you simply feel more awake... ...and capable.

00:33:46: And the interesting thing during sports, you also don't have to feeling that your exhausted so quickly.

00:33:50: That is actually something which has been proven this time... This perceived exertion they call it in technical jargon.

00:33:57: Perceived exertion in German?

00:33:58: Exactly!

00:33:58: Perceive exertion.

00:33:59: I can not always quite get exactly know what that is interestingly or something goes down of course crazy right and That's why it makes total sense to actually do that before sports, as long as the sport isn't too late in the day.

00:34:11: It makes extreme sense to consume coffee beforehand because you have more power and can actually deliver more And accordingly also a better training effect.

00:34:20: So in that respect Actually really one of The best boosters You Can You Can Consume?

00:34:25: Thats Why Its Also In These Pre-Workout Boosters.

00:34:28: On The One Hand Because It Increases Performance A Bit Or Increases The Readiness For Performance.

00:34:33: Lets Put It That Way Pain perception.

00:34:37: that's why it's also relevant for endurance athletes.

00:34:40: For endurance athlete, there is another reason.

00:34:42: so in the gym That makes sense right.

00:34:43: you push past your limits a bit easier when pain perception Is slightly dampened?

00:34:48: It doesn't replace a painkiller.

00:34:50: You shouldn't take it like that When you go to the gym either.

00:34:52: but thats just by The way.

00:34:54: and for endurance Athletes it improves the mobilization of fatty acids.

00:34:58: that Of course not relevant at all for strength athlete In the gym.

00:35:01: But when it comes to this energy provision during an endurance performance, if I go running for an hour or two or maybe three then caffeine has a positive effect there.

00:35:11: That's why they're... It also come-I don't know If that's the medical reason Why everyone who goes road cycling always does these coffee rides You know?

00:35:19: So you'll always drink a coffee halfway through and Then you ride your road bike somewhere And then you go to a bakery and blahblahblah.

00:35:25: I Don't think caffeine is drunk because It mobilizes fatty acids better from the tissue, but that is definitely a physiological effect.

00:35:33: That can also increase and improve endurance performance a bit because it can then be used for energy production and so on.

00:35:42: now in The medium term if you look at it with tolerance development... ...that happens relatively quickly.

00:35:50: So If You Start With One Coffee Now You Drink Two Three Four Coffees To Still Have A Similar Effect.

00:35:56: There are plenty of people who also drink five or six coffees a day simply because they think I need it, Or i can't work as well otherwise.

00:36:03: That is to some extent an adaptation mechanism for the body.

00:36:08: that's like with any quotation marks addiction Because now this caffeine is coming in but still want to have adenosine effect.

00:36:19: more of these adenosin receptors are formed and if you then don't have coffee But we have more receptors that the adenosine can then bind to, you get tired faster.

00:36:29: You tend to be less productive and so on and so

00:36:32: forth.".

00:36:33: So that happens relatively quickly.

00:36:35: And um...you also have these withdrawal effects These cravings.

00:36:41: Not really craving in a sense of it doesn't feel like I absolutely need coffee now but if you drink a lot of coffee just leave out for two weeks.

00:36:51: That has already happened.

00:36:52: twice two cups, maximum three cups of coffee a day.

00:36:58: And if you stop that from one day to the next then I noticed for two or three days i just have a bit of mild headache and it goes away immediately when you drink your coffee.

00:37:07: Okay crazy!

00:37:09: Yeah..I've

00:37:10: had anything like this but... I actually drank my coffee regularly which has been the case in the last year-and-a-half.

00:37:18: Then I do notice, okay.

00:37:20: I'm just a little tired.

00:37:21: so i-i... Just wanted because I noticed that it gives me a boost.

00:37:25: uh and not Because I feel bad in any way but just just A Little bit of sluggishness That sets in you know.

00:37:29: um Probably exactly because Of the adenosine thing

00:37:33: It probably manifests differently for everyone right?

00:37:35: So For Me it was mainly this This headache And I wouldn't have thought that!

00:37:39: So I Do Have to be a Bit Sensitive To That Even If Im A Fast Metabolizer And Don'T Have This Adora Tour Problem.

00:37:44: But Exactly Everyone Probably Reacts A Bit Differently To That.

00:37:48: What you don't consider at all with caffeine is that it also does something to blood sugar regulation because it also affects cortisol levels, the stress hormone.

00:37:57: And that always messes up blood-sugar regulation a bit.

00:38:00: That's why you have to be careful if your slow metabolizer these effects don't last too long Because otherwise risk of cardiovascular disease and so on can go up

00:38:11: Exactly.

00:38:12: But we already cleared this up.

00:38:15: what do they do?

00:38:17: For for sleep.

00:38:18: It's extremely bad.

00:38:19: I don't think you can put it in if

00:38:20: its still active

00:38:22: Exactly, so the caffeine is still there exactly.

00:38:24: So in the end?

00:38:26: It's clear If you really haven't had any coffee for a long time that day i'd say for A fast metabolizer You ideally shouldn't drink one after two o'clock or three o' clock p.m.. That's like The absolute limit.

00:38:37: and for slow metabolizer Ideally yeah not even After ten am.

00:38:41: so you should Really only drink one in the morning And then probably be fine and can maybe even get some of these positive effects because it's already gone by the time you sleep.

00:38:51: That is hard to study, but its definitely bad for your sleep time to fall asleep longer.

00:39:02: It fragments your sleep, meaning you wake up more often.

00:39:04: that's not necessarily something you notice on a day-to-day basis but it is Something That Happens.

00:39:08: So Your Sleep Architecture Is Kind Of Torn Apart.

00:39:11: Deep Sleep Is Affected.

00:39:12: Then Suddenly You Have Awaking Phase Or Very Intense Light Sleep Phase.

00:39:16: That Shouldn't Actually Happen At That Moment And Because of That The Body Has To I'll Say Ease Back Into These Deep Sleep Phases Every Time and That Just Makes the Recovery From Sleep Significantly Worse.

00:39:28: And yeah, I think i already said deep sleep is mainly significantly reduced and that

00:39:33: you can't remember these waking phases

00:39:35: no often.

00:39:36: That's why it's also exciting to track sleep with a wearable or whatever for certain period of time?

00:39:42: You don't have to do it permanently if you don't want too.

00:39:45: but look at it an objectified Doi wake up uh... Or how was my deepsleep?

00:39:50: How is my R?

00:39:50: E M sleep?

00:39:51: that is very exciting.

00:39:54: now.

00:39:55: If we look at the studies, we already said so.

00:39:58: drinking coffee body weight reduction.

00:40:00: That's not a it's basically plausible and explainable because these fatty acids can be better mobilized from the fat tissue And then also used for energy production.

00:40:10: but It's Not A quick hack For Weight Loss Like Osempic in The like Are.

00:40:16: Now When It Comes to Diabetes Coffee Does Do a Bit To Blood Sugar Regulation Messing It Up A bit.

00:40:24: Actually, it's the case that long-term coffee consumption actually tends to lower the risk of diabetes.

00:40:31: Again be a bit careful.

00:40:33: many of these positive study results mainly refer to fast metabolizers compared to these slow metabolizers who don't have such good positive profile but rather even a risk profile when it comes to coffee consumption.

00:40:46: cardiovascular exactly same But it's always about normal consumption.

00:40:52: We're always talking about something in the range of two to four, sometimes two to five cups per day.

00:40:57: You have to pay a bit of attention to that.

00:40:59: ten is not covered there.

00:41:01: So don't think more is better.

00:41:02: That's not the case with with caffeine and otherwise It's exciting.

00:41:06: Parkinson's and Alzheimer's because there was original risk for both if you drink coffee.

00:41:11: We already explained the mechanism for Parkinson's anyway that this blockade of adenosine receptors in the striatum, which is a very specific area of the brain.

00:41:19: Like all studies these are mostly observational studies and not intervention studies.

00:41:24: That's why causality is difficult.

00:41:25: These are most correlations.

00:41:27: Maybe at end there also some bias.

00:41:29: people who drink coffee have healthier lifestyle.

00:41:32: I don't know, right?

00:41:33: But you just have to say that as a limitation or it's

00:41:35: somehow more movement in everyday life whatever.

00:41:37: Right That's super sick because he

00:41:38: walked.

00:41:39: coffee shops are too the machine

00:41:41: exactly.

00:41:41: so could be all sorts of things right.

00:41:43: So that is always there difficulty.

00:41:45: yeah totally

00:41:46: Exactly.

00:41:46: what would you should watch out for?

00:41:48: we already mentioned that.

00:41:49: two during pregnancy especially in The third trimester meaning the last third of pregnancy the breakdown Is enormously slowed down up to three times slower.

00:41:59: half-life can go from five up to fifteen hours.

00:42:01: So maybe it's best to just skip coffee altogether or only drink one in the morning, so very conservative and not too high a dose.

00:42:08: Watch out for these withdrawal symptoms because you can have headaches, be tired... You could also get a bit more irritable but that subsides within couple of days.

00:42:21: One consideration there is not to drink coffee continuously all year round But to cycle it.

00:42:27: So you say, You drink...you only have coffee five days a week for example and then no coffee on the weekend?

00:42:33: Uh..You can also do It On A Monthly Basis!

00:42:35: You Can Also Do It On The Quarterly Basises However You Want.

00:42:38: There Are Some People Who Do That but They're Not Like Crazy Limiting Withdrawal Symptoms Either Anyway.

00:42:44: And If You Drink Coffee Continuously Then It Doesn't Even Come To That.

00:42:47: That Also Has To Be Said.

00:42:48: that's Why Maybe Best Not Stop At All Exactly Only With Smoking.

00:42:53: Their Definitely Stop.

00:42:55: And then there's a third point that dehydration.

00:42:58: so everyone knows right when you drink coffee.

00:43:00: Then you also lose water faster, thats why its not comparable to medication and have go the bathroom more often.

00:43:07: Thats why i also drink enough water When your drink coffee already getting fluid buffers effect but should simply have on radar.

00:43:19: if we summarize this now what would u say be guidelines for Healthy longevity compliant coffee consumption.

00:43:29: Yeah, so like I said actually the main issue What do you ruin if you consume too much caffeine in?

00:43:34: The end is actually sleep right.

00:43:35: So at a certain At a certain dose You'll notice anyway that you feel like crap and feel bad And then you'll tell yourself okay next time maybe i'll drink a little less.

00:43:43: I think That regulates itself I'd say In the vast majority of cases on its own.

00:43:48: But what doesn't necessarily regulate itself Is that you set for yourself up to when you're allowed to drink coffee at the latest during the day.

00:43:56: And everyone has to find out a bit about themselves, and it's super individual!

00:43:59: You can see this again now in my case.

00:44:01: but what doesn't necessarily regulate itself is how much time do we have left?

00:44:09: Everyone needs to find an out-of-bit for themselfs.

00:44:15: If I drink coffee late, i still have trouble sleeping through the night or simply with my sleep architecture even though i'm a fast metabolizer because i just have a bit of this sensitivity to it.

00:44:22: So i still notice if i-if i drink uh coffee in the late afternoon that i just don't feel as good and that i also wouldn't have that restful sleep that i actually could have right?

00:44:30: Even though i am a fast metabolism means its super individual.

00:44:33: you dont necessarily need to do this genetic testing but you can listen your body a little bit.

00:44:37: The real truth is only visible when you are awareable.

00:44:43: Hey, what's it like now if I really drink coffee?

00:44:46: My last coffee by ten o'clock at the latest every day for one or two weeks.

00:44:51: And how is it compared to when i drink another one by three p.m.. At The Latest For the other Two Weeks?

00:44:54: then there will probably be a difference...I think Probably even for most fast metabolizers There Will Be A slight Difference and that'S How You Have To Feel Your Way Forward!

00:45:02: Actually It'S Not Even That Relevant Whether you're CYP One A-Two Genotype AA Or Genotype CC Because In The End They Are Five Or Six Other Genes That are Also Relevant and that also show a bit of this individual reaction, so not trivial at all.

00:45:19: And super complex just to be tested individually!

00:45:24: Accordingly I would try to feel my way forward.

00:45:27: what you can perhaps still do... ...to make the whole thing more pleasant is this L-theanine.

00:45:31: That's really cool supplement.

00:45:32: You could take it with green tea.

00:45:34: if you don't want to drink Green Tea now but rather drink coffee Take one capsule every morning and probably be calmer.

00:45:41: take fewer of those negative effects with you, but it won't necessarily improve your sleep.

00:45:45: That just as a

00:45:47: great.

00:45:47: I wanted to add that too.

00:45:48: one thing we forgot You shouldn't drink coffee right after waking up But you should leave an hour and a half two hours.

00:45:56: Yeah exactly!

00:45:57: That has also in adenosine mediated reason i'd say because the adenoside when you wake Up In The Morning isn't completely broken down yet?

00:46:09: directly drink an espresso or two, a coffee or filter coffee.

00:46:13: Then these adenosine receptors are blocked and in the course of day it's then more likely that you get a crash like this right?

00:46:22: So at some point that flips and the caffeine no longer works after half life.

00:46:26: but haven't drunk second coffee yet.

00:46:28: But the adenosin couldn't be broken down correctly.

00:46:32: That is why Even with coffee, although you actually think that your doing it for alertness or wakefulness.

00:46:39: You crash in the course of the afternoon.

00:46:41: simply because this effect suddenly stops The adenosine can bind again and get tired faster.

00:46:47: That's why we should also give yourself time to do something at the morning so as not to shoot the spike you have even further into the moon.

00:46:58: But exactly!

00:46:59: Just Give It Time.

00:47:00: I usually do like this So i always try stick to an hour.

00:47:03: Sometimes though it's only an hour and a half, not two.

00:47:06: And that then I think also fine.

00:47:08: everyone has to decide for themselves.

00:47:11: Wonderful!

00:47:13: Yeah exactly.

00:47:13: So coffee can be something very good or delicious.

00:47:16: Neither of us are coffee connoisseurs i'd say because just like there are wine sommeliers There could also be coffee sommelieres.

00:47:23: My sister did the training course in which she knows her stuff pretty well.

00:47:29: But exactly when it comes to longevity, coffee or caffeine can also make a good contribution.

00:47:35: If you guys have any more questions on the topic feel free to comment on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or YouTube Or write an email to podcast at beyondlifespan.de.

00:47:46: We look forward your question and feedback.

00:47:49: Otherwise we'll see you next time!