Coffee is one of the most popular beverages drunk all over the world; it’s only second behind tea. Coffee is enjoyed in more than 100 countries all over the world, and many start their day by drinking it. Today at Spheremedium we’ll be exploring what are the effects of drinking coffee on skin, whether they are positive effects or negative effects.
When we talk about coffee, the majority of the time we’re actually talking about the caffeine in it. Now in a cup of coffee, depending on what kind of beans are used, roughly about 80 milligrams of caffeine is present. The recommended caffeine intake on a daily basis is 100 to 200 milligrams, and if you exceed 250 milligrams, that’s when one can get side effects like palpitations, dizziness, and, in some cases, hallucinations.
Now if you drink more than a thousand milligrams of coffee, it means it’s roughly about about 12 cups of coffee every day and that’s when you actually get very extreme palpitations, sometimes chest pains, and that’s when you need to make a trip to the ER.
Effects of drinking coffee on skin
Here sre four effects of drinking coffee on your skin, three good ones, and one negative effect.
Positive effects of drinking coffee on skin
Coffee Fights Cancer
Coffee is anti-carcinogenic, that is, it fights against cancer-causing cells. It’s actually caffeine found in coffee that exerts its anti-proliferative and anti-carcinogenic effect via inhibiting proliferation of cancer cells.
There are also studies that equate caffeine itself with a protective mechanism akin to sunscreen whereby it minimizes sunburns and at the same time inhibits the negative effects of UV radiation on skin.
A study was conducted with 15 000 people, they realized that people who drank more than four cups of coffee per day actually have their risk of skin cancer, especially melanoma, reduced by up to 20 percent, and when they compared that with people who drank decaffeinated coffee, they had no reduction in the risk of melanomas.
So it means that if you have a family history of melanoma, it’s your best bet to drink caffeinated coffee and skip the decaf. I understand that four cups of coffee is a little bit too much for some. Infact, there are some people who can’t stand taking more than a cup of coffee per day as they get palpitations, headaches, and then nausea.
So there is also another study that shows that even if you take just one cup of coffee per day, it reduces the risk of melanoma by three percent—well, three percent is better than zero percent.
In conclusion, coffee has anti-carcinogenic effects and it helps reduce the risk of skin melanomas. Drinking one cup of coffee per day reduces up to three percent and four cups a day roughly up to 20 percent risk. If you have a high risk of melanomas, your best bet is to take a little bit of caffeine on a daily basis.
Coffee Reduces Psoriatic Flare Up
One of the positive effects of drinking coffee on skin is for those suffering from the skin condition psoriasis. Caffeine in coffee reduces psoriatic flare-ups.
Now there are two reasons why coffee reduces psoriatic flare-ups.
- Coffee itself contains polyphenols, which proteins are found in plants that help reduce inflammation. The polyphenols in coffee are both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, and psoriasis is a systemic inflammation of skin, so it means that if you have somehow reduced inflammation, the risk of getting a psoriatic flare-up decreases.
- Caffeine also has immunomodulatory effects, which means that it actually regulates your immune system. Caffeine reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines and at the same time reduces the migration of white blood cells, neutrophils, and monocytes to the skin lesions.
So if you have psoriasis and you take coffee, the amount of flare-ups is actually much lesser.
Reduction of rosacea
Coffee Soothes Rosacea, a skin condition where there is redness over the skin that is triggered by sunlight, spicy food, stress or even alcohol. This skin condition stays throughout their entire life and often runs in families.
There is a study with 82 000 women that shows four cups of coffee per day reduces rosacea flare-ups by 23 percent. So if you are suffering from rosacea issues, you should take coffee on a daily basis. Even if you don’t take up to four cups of coffee per day, even a cup of coffee itself will be able to mitigate or reduce your risk of your rosacea flare-up.
Those are the positive effects of drinking coffee on skin. Now coming to the negative effects.
Negative Effects of Drinking Coffee on Skin!
Premature aging
Study shows that caffeine reduces collagen synthesis, which means the negative effect of coffee is that it promotes premature aging. Despite caffeine being antioxidant and anti-inflammatory, it reduces the synthesis of biological collagen. Since there’s a reduction of collagen synthesis, there’s an appearance of wrinkles at a much earlier rate.
As most of you have heard about hyaluronic acid, it attracts water, helps with skin hydration, makes skin look plump, and has a protective mechanism against premature aging.
You might think, What if I use hyaluronic acid serums or creams while drinking coffee? Will it prevent premature aging? Well, there was a study on this too, which showed that hyaluronic acid does not have any protective mechanisms against the negative effects of caffeine on skin, so it doesn’t matter how much you use it; if you drink coffee, your collagen is not going to grow as quickly, and then you’re going to get premature aging.
Reduces wound healing
So this means caffeine also reduces wound healing due to decreased collagen synthesis.
Therefore, in some hospitals, patients are instructed to skip the coffee for a couple of days before surgery and to withhold their coffee until the wound has completely healed.
coffee in pregnancy
Also, drinking excessive coffee when pregnant reduces collagen synthesis in the embryo itself, which could lead to underweight babies or babies smaller for gestational age.
So these are the effects of drinking coffee on skin. What was the most surprising thing you learned in this article, and how many cups of coffee do you drink per day? Do let me know in the comments.
Also consider reading “Separating facts from fiction; 5 failed social media skin hacks” at Sphere medium.
FAQs
Consuming 2 to 3 cups per day of caffeinated coffee is recommended.
Research is still going on, but since it’s diuretic and can dehydrate you if you’re not taking enough water, it can make your skin look dull and dry. And dehydrated skin definitely ages quicker.
If taken in moderation, it is beneficial too.
Black coffee, when consumed regularly over a period of time, does stain teeth yellow
I am a dentist, baker, and fitness and health enthusiast with a passion for living life to the fullest. I am foodie and explorer, always seeking new adventures and flavors. Currently working on my own skincare brand.
