Professor Tim Spector says three cups of daily drink could lower blood pressure

Coffee drinkers might find there is a reason to celebrate their morning cuppa - it could be good for their health. A study has revealed that coffee can alter the microorganisms living in our guts directly impacting our health - and for many good reasons.

Not only that, but it can "help reduce blood sugar and blood pressure", reveals Professor Tim Spector. Conducted by ZOE, of which Tim is a founder and author of, the scientists looked into the drink due to its popularity and found there's a lot of good to be had from your morning cuppa.

Whether you opt for caffeine or decaf, both provide the same benefits, with Professor Tim Spector, telling Newsweek: "This novel finding shows just how insightful gut microbiome data can be in helping us to accurately decode people's diets; a crucial step in helping people to improve their diet and gut health, by feeding their microbes what they love."

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In their groundbreaking study, released on Monday in the scientific journal, Nature Microbiology, researchers noted benefits of drinking coffee include a lower risk of heart disease mortality, type 2 diabetes, and certain cancers. "Coffee's health benefits are likely thanks to its complex chemical nature," explained Spector.

He added: "Made by fermenting beans, coffee contains hundreds of compounds that are present in both caffeinated and decaf coffee. These include a range of polyphenols, which fuel the gut microbiome and can help reduce blood sugar and blood pressure."

The scientists conducted their research using information collected from 22,800 people in the UK and in the US - all of which gave detailed dietary information - and public data from another 54,200 people in 211 other cohorts. They also studied more than 400 samples of plasma and more than 350 faecal samples, and conducted two in-vitro experiments, to investigate how coffee might impact a person's gut.

In fact, further research suggests coffee has the most significant association with gut microbiome composition out of 150 different foods tested. Researchers discovered people who have more than three cups of coffee daily have significantly higher levels of Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, with an uptick of up to eight times compared to those who drank less than three cups monthly.

Professor Tim Spector said that the study "highlights just how fussy our microbes can be" adding that "Lawsonibacter microbe hangs around in suspended animation, just waiting for a cup of coffee in order to flourish. This gives us novel insights into how we need great diversity in plants to properly feed all our gut microbes and reap the health benefits."

The data has suggested that the abundance of this bacterial strain could explain why there are many health benefits to drinking coffee as it can easily turn coffee components into other compounds, boasting even more health benefits. Spector said that currently "we don't know how this microbe impacts our health, though it may be involved in positive health impacts we can thank coffee for." He added: This is the tip of the iceberg and shows how, with the massive sample size of ZOE's database, we can unlock many more food microbe connections, informing us how to eat for better health."