Because coffee is an ally of longevity: the explanation

For decades, scientists have observed the same phenomenon: those who drink coffee regularly lives better and longer. Less hearths, less diabetes, less tumors. But for a long time it has remained an enigma: how does a drink so common to protect against such different diseases? Now some Researchers from Queen Mary University of London may have solved the mystery. And what they discovered adds something what we know about caffeine. Which, in practice, does not just keep us awake. But it would be able to light and turn off those molecular switches that decide how our cells age.

Coffee and longevity

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A few years ago, the same team had shown that caffeine extends the life of the cells by acting on Tor, a molecular switch that tells them when growing, based on the available resources. But now they have discovered something more: caffeine does not act directly on Tor. It works by activating AMPK, the energy sensor of the cells. “When the cells have little energy, Ampk intervenes to help them resist,” explains Charalamipos Rallis, geneticist of Queen Mary University and study coordinator. “And our results show that caffeine helps to activate this switch.”

Ampk is not an unknown in the world of anti-aging research. It is exactly the same target of metformin, the diabetic drug that many workshops study for its effects on longevity.

the more you send it down …

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For their experiments, the researchers used the formation yeast, a single -celled microorganism that shares the fundamental aging mechanisms with man. The results, published in the magazine Microbial Cell, show that When caffeine activates ampk, cells modify the way they grow, they repay DNA damage more effectively and manage stress better. All central processes in aging and development development. “This contributes to explain why caffeine could be beneficial for health and longevity” says John-Patrick Alao, the researcher who led the experiments. “And it opens interesting possibilities for future research on how to trigger these effects more directly, with diet, lifestyle or new drugs”.

From the laboratory to daily life, the step is not automatic. For now these are experiments on yeast. But it is also true that Ampk works in the same way in all living organisms, from the simplest to us. And if the confirmation came that caffeine manages to activate it even in our cells, with the right dose of coffee, cells could be helped to remain young for longer. A small daily contribution to longevity, hidden in one of the most consumed drinks. And that as a famous commercial of the 80s said, “the more you send it down, the more you pull you up”.