Coffee is the most popular morning beverage. But, studies show a coffee estrogen link that could potentially affect your health. Should you be concerned?
Many of us find coffee as a crutch to get through our daily lives. We drink it to start our mornings. It’s consumed to finish the workday. We may even find ourselves drinking coffee to keep us awake on long drives.
Did you know new research suggests coffee may not be as good as it seems? This is particularly the case for women.
A recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests some concerning finds. Drinking just two cups of coffee per day may lead to hormone imbalances.
The research suggests a coffee estrogen link where drinking coffee affects estrogen levels. The study is the first of its kind to investigate the link between coffee and estrogen. Let’s examine the relation between caffeine consumption and hormone regulation.
The Coffee Estrogen Link
The results from the study were discussed in an article on Prevention.com. The study had some very interesting results.
For white women, drinking two cups of coffee caused estrogen levels to decrease. This would prevent hormone-related diseases like breast cancer.
However, among black and Asian women the study shows that estrogen levels actually increased. This would put these populations of women at a higher risk of developing hormone-related diseases.
The coffee estrogen link shown may have been affected by other influences. Many women in the study reported drinking soda. Further research is needed to see if any of the ingredients in soda affected hormone levels in women.
This research can be branched out further. Energy drinks may also play a role in hormone regulation among women. Really, any caffeinated beverage should be examined.
What exactly does caffeine do to mess with hormone regulation? According to this article, caffeine makes the body more acidic.
When the body becomes acidic, too much estrogen is produced. This also leads to low progesterone levels. When the two are not in balance it causes estrogen dominance which leads to a variety of diseases and conditions.
A study by the American Academy of Anti-Aging Research is described here. This shows that women who are heavy coffee drinkers had 70% more estrogen than women who consumed less than one cup per day. Further studies also show a slew of other birth-related conditions that can arise to a body being too acidic.
So what is the take home message?
In short, further research is needed before any claims can be made. If you drink less than one cup of coffee per day, hormone changes should not be noticeable. For modest to heavy coffee drinkers, there is a potential risk for hormone imbalances.
Coffee makes your body more acidic. This makes you prone to estrogen dominance. Keep a watchful eye on your body. If you are concerned look for other ways to replace your caffeine addiction.
Joanna Palmer says
Hi, I am really enjoying your blog, thanks for gathering all this info in one place.
There are a few things that strike me about the Caffeine & Estrogen study that have my little scientific brain sending off alarm bells:
1: The sample group is far too small for a study in which you are going to divide your group into racial cohorts. And then I’d like to know about Representitiveness- was the selection randomized? And that intensity of testing will of course cause a selection bias: people who are willing to attend for testing that frequently are almost always going to be women with a higher socio-economic status.
2: BPAs are known to be hormone disruptors and the study apparently had no data about how the caffeinated drinks were consumed.. eg if a woman drank soda from cans which still contain BPA as lining (as opposed to glass or plastic bottles which don’t) would the results have differed?
3: Then there is the issue of it being a self-reporting bias: relying on humans to self-report their eating or drinking habits always gives a bias because we self-report what we think the researchers want to hear (knowingly or unknowingly) skewing the results.
Just a few thoughts.
Thanks again.
Lisa says
Hi Joanna! Those are all great questions. Clearly there needs to be more research with more controls to see if other factors are affecting the conclusion. I don’t understand how estrogen levels could differ based on race. There must be other factors involved. There are so many xenoestrogens in the environment, it’s difficult to fully control other influences. I keep my coffee intake to no more than 1 cup per day mainly due to the cortisol affect.