American’s consume 400 million cups of coffee per day or 146 billion cups of coffee per year. The United States is the leading consumer of coffee in the world! (1)
Harvard scientist have been examining the health impact of coffee for years. In 2014, researchers announces that they discovered six new human genes related to coffee. One study found that coffee protects agains type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease and a 2001 study found that coffee protects agains Parkinson’s disease.(2)
Coffee found to protect against type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and Parkinson’s disease!
A recent Harvard study found that people who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had a 15 percent lower chance of dying prematurely when compared to non-drinkers.(3)
Brandeis biophysicist Dan Perlman was responsibility for the invent of Smart Balance buttery spread. Perlman may be making a new name for himself in the coffee industry. (3)
Perlman found that roasting green coffee beans enhances the health benefits of coffee. He then developed a coffee flour milled from the par-baked beans to use as a food ingredient and a nutritional supplement. (3)
Par-baked beans contain higher levels of chlorogenic acid that has been found beneficial in controlling blood pressure, fighting heart disease, and cancer!
One explanation behind the health benefits found in coffee is the naturally occurring chemical compound, chlorogenic acid (CGA). CGA is an antioxidant that is thought to be beneficial for sugar metabolism, controlling blood pressure and treating heart disease and cancer. (3)
When coffee is roasted the traditional way, it is brought to heat at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-15 minutes and the CGA content declines from 50 percent to nearly 100 percent. (3)
Perlman found that when baking the coffee bean for 10 minutes at 300 degrees Fahrenheit, that the concentration of CGA in the bean was around 10 percent of the bean’s weight, meaning it barely dropped. (3)
Par-baked beans are then milled into a gluten-free flour that offers a nutty flavor and can be used in baking!
The parked beans can’t be used to make coffee, as the flavor is not completely developed. Instead, Perlman cryogenically mills the bean in order to protect the bean from oxidation. The end result is a nutritious, gluten-free, wheat-colored flour, with a pleasant, mild, nutty flavor. (3)
Perlman hopes to see coffee flour blended with other flours and used in cereal and other commonly purchased food products. Perlman reported that it is possible to blend the par-baked beans with regular coffee beans to increase the the CGA content of your morning drink. (3)
The new coffee flour has been patented and is expected to make it’s way to consumers! (3)
Sources included:
(1) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/29/americas-coffee-obsession_n_987885.html
(2) http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2015/09/how-coffee-loves-us-back/
(3) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/01/160107140643.htm
