Coffee with milk would have particularly interesting anti-inflammatory properties for the immune system.
- Polyphenols are a group of natural antioxidants important to humans. They prevent and delay the oxidation of cells, thus protecting them from damage or destruction.
- Polyphenols are present in coffee, but also in many fruits and vegetables, tea, red wine and beer.
Difficult to digest, source of bloating… Here are some of the criticisms made of the café au lait. However, there would be many advantages to taking your “little caoua” with a dash of milk. The University of Copenhagen assures that the drink has a strong anti-inflammatory effect.
The combination of protein and polyphenol doubles the anti-inflammatory effects
The researchers wanted to study in the laboratory the behavior of the polyphenols present in coffee with amino acids (building blocks of proteins) housed in products of animal origin such as milk. To do this, they applied artificial inflammation to immune cells. Some were given doses of polyphenols that reacted with an amino acid, while others were only treated with the antioxidants. A control group received no product.
Immune cells treated with the antioxidant/protein combination were twice as effective at fighting inflammation as cells to which only polyphenols were added.
“It is interesting that we have now observed the anti-inflammatory effect in cell experiments. And obviously this has only made us more interested in understanding these health benefits in more detail. So the next step will be to study the effects on animals”says Professor Andrew Williams, lead author of the study published in the journal Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
The anti-inflammatory effect would not be limited to coffee with milk
“The reaction between polyphenols and proteins also occurs in some of the coffee drinks with milk that we have studied. In fact, the reaction occurs so quickly that it has been difficult to avoid it in any of the foods that we have studied. we have studied so far”explains Marianne Nissen Lund who led the research in the press release from his university.
For her, it would thus be possible to find the reaction and its anti-inflammatory effect in all dishes based on proteins and fruits or vegetables rich in polyphenols.
“I can imagine something similar happening, for example, in a meat dish with vegetables or a smoothie, if you make sure to add proteins like milk or yogurt”adds the expert.
Many researchers are currently working on ways to encapsulate polyphenols in protein structures to improve their absorption in the body. “This strategy has the added benefit of enhancing the anti-inflammatory effects of polyphenols”concludes the scientist.
