Reviewed by You probably didn’t take up a coffee habit for the health benefits alone, which makes it all the more welcome when research suggests your morning pick-me-up could be doing your body some good, too.
From liver health and brain health to longevity, coffee has been linked to a range of potential benefits. Now, there’s another to add to the list – and it’s probably not what you’d expect.
New research published in the European Journal of Nutrition has found an association between drinking more coffee and having greater muscle mass. Coffee drinkers also tended to have lower levels of total and visceral fat.
That doesn't mean drinking coffee will build muscle or burn fat – this was an observational study and can't establish cause and effect. But if you’re already a regular coffee drinker, the findings are certainly interesting.
Meet the experts: Luca Verroest, lead study author and researcher in the Research Unit of Biomedicine and Internal Medicine at Oulu University; Scott Keatley, RD, co-owner of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy; and Keri Gans, RD, author of The Small Change Diet.
What did the study find?
The observational study analysed data from 2,264 46-year-olds taking part in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, a long-running study following people born in northern Finland in 1966.
Researchers compared participants’ coffee intake with a range of health measures.
They found that those who drank more coffee tended to have lower levels of total body fat and visceral fat – the fat stored deep within the abdomen around internal organs – as well as greater muscle mass.
Interestingly, people with higher and lower coffee intakes had similar body mass indexes (BMIs), highlighting how BMI alone doesn't necessarily reflect differences in body composition.
Higher coffee intake was also associated with lower concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in the blood. Elevated levels of BCAAs have previously been associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes.
‘Higher habitual coffee intake groups showed a leaner body composition,’ the researchers concluded.
Does coffee actually help you build muscle?
Not necessarily. The study found an association between drinking coffee and having more muscle – it did not show that coffee itself causes muscle growth.
‘It’s entirely possible that people who drink more coffee differ in other ways we didn’t measure,’ says Verroest, a PhD candidate and the study's lead author.
Still, there are several potential explanations for the association.
‘Caffeine increases energy expenditure and fat oxidation,’ Verroest says. This means caffeine can temporarily increase the amount of energy your body uses and the rate at which it breaks down fat.
Coffee also contains far more than caffeine alone.
‘Coffee also contains over a thousand bioactive compounds beyond caffeine, and we don’t yet know which of them matter,’ Verroest says.
It may also have an indirect effect through exercise. Coffee ‘may also improve exercise performance, which could indirectly help preserve muscle,’ says Keatley.
Coffee contains polyphenols, including chlorogenic acids, too. ‘That may influence blood sugar, inflammation, and how the body handles fat,’ he adds.
But none of these potential mechanisms proves that drinking more coffee will change your body composition.
How much coffee do you need to drink?
We don't know.
‘Our study didn’t test doses, so I can’t answer from our own data,’ says Verroest.
In general, ‘moderate intake can certainly fit into a healthy eating pattern,’ says Gans, author of The Small Change Diet.
US guidance cited in the original research coverage states that up to 400mg of caffeine a day is generally not associated with negative effects for most healthy adults. In the UK, the NHS advises pregnant women to limit caffeine intake to 200mg a day.
And individual tolerance matters. If coffee leaves you feeling jittery, anxious, affects your sleep or causes digestive problems, more certainly isn't better.
Does it matter how you take your coffee?
Potentially – particularly if you're drinking several cups a day.
There’s a significant difference between a black coffee or one with a splash of milk and a drink loaded with flavoured syrups, sweetened creamers and whipped cream.
‘It is very easy to turn coffee into dessert,’ says Keatley.
‘A small amount of milk or sugar is unlikely to erase coffee’s beneficial compounds.’ But large quantities of syrup, sweetened creamer or sugar can add hundreds of calories, alongside added sugar and saturated fat, he points out.
‘If that happens every day, the additions may work against the metabolic benefit someone is hoping to get,’ Keatley says.
The bottom line
The findings don't mean you should start drinking coffee to build muscle or lose body fat.
This was an observational study, so researchers can't establish whether coffee caused the differences in body composition – or whether other lifestyle factors explain the association.
But for those who already enjoy coffee, the study adds to a growing body of research investigating its potential health benefits.
When it comes to actually building muscle, though, the fundamentals haven't changed: regular resistance training, adequate protein and sufficient overall nutrition remain far more important than what's in your coffee cup.
Carina Hsieh, MPH, is the deputy features editor of Women’s Health. She has more than a decade’s worth of experience working in media and has covered everything from beauty, fashion, travel, lifestyle, pets, to health.
She began her career as an intern in the fashion closet at Cosmopolitan where she worked her way up to Senior Sex & Relationships Editor. While covering women’s health there, she discovered her passion for health service journalism and took a break to get her Masters in Public Health. Post-grad school, she worked as a freelance writer and as The Daily Beast’s first Beauty, Health, and Wellness Reporter.
Carina is an alum of the Fashion Institute of Technology and the Yale School of Public Health. She and her French Bulldog, Bao Bao, split their time between Brooklyn and Connecticut. She enjoys reformer Pilates, (slow) running, and smelling the fancy toiletries in boutique fitness class locker rooms.
