New study finds surprising link between coffee, muscle and hormones

Coffee drinkers in a new Finnish study tended to have less stored body fat and more skeletal muscle, even though their body mass index was generally similar to that of people who drank less coffee.

Researchers led by experts from the University of Oulu examined links between coffee consumption, metabolites, cardiometabolic indicators and sex hormones. The study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition, analyzed data from 2,264 participants with an average age of 46.

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Millions of people consume coffee every day, yet we still know surprisingly little about how it is connected to our metabolism and hormones.

The strongest differences appeared in the hormone findings. Among men, higher coffee consumption was associated with a more favorable glucose-to-insulin relationship, higher concentrations of total and available testosterone, and higher levels of sex hormone-binding globulin, or SHBG. Among women, the associations were weaker. Higher coffee intake was linked to higher SHBG and lower levels of freely available androgen hormones, a group that includes testosterone.

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The specific hormone pattern stood out in our results and did not disappear when we took body mass index and lifestyle factors into account, while several of these associations differed between men and women.

“Millions of people consume coffee every day, yet we still know surprisingly little about how it is connected to our metabolism and hormones,” said Oulu University nutritionist Luka Verost. He said the study identified a specific hormone pattern that remained after the researchers accounted for body mass index and lifestyle factors, while several associations differed between men and women.

Higher coffee intake was also associated with lower levels of branched-chain amino acids, or BCAAs, in both men and women. Researchers noted that although BCAAs are essential amino acids involved in metabolic signaling, chronically elevated levels have been linked to insulin resistance, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, fatty liver disease and a higher risk of hypertension. The researchers said the results suggest coffee may benefit metabolic health and that hormonal pathways could help explain the association, but they did not follow participants over an extended period.

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The inverse association between coffee intake and blood BCAA levels in men and women is particularly noteworthy.