Coffee can perk you up. We all know that.
But the earthy beverage, which we like to call the drink of the gods, also has perks. Health perks, that is.
We're talking about phytonutrients, which are chemical compounds that plants produce that help them grow.
They positively affect people's biochemical pathways and can influence whether they develop disease.
University of Newcastle Professor of Nutrition and Dietetics, Clare Collins, said there were loads of phytonutrients in nuts, beans, seeds, vegetables, fruit and grains.
Research is increasingly pinpointing the phytonutrients with potential for use in disease prevention and treatment.
Research has found that drinking a few cups of coffee a day is associated with a lower risk of dying from any cause.
Clare said coffee drinkers had a lower risk of developing heart disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease, depression, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and prostate, endometrial, liver and skin cancers.
Coffee is often singled out for its health benefits, but Clare wondered why coffee's health benefits applied to caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties.
"People always assume that it must be the caffeine," she said.
She found that the coffee's health benefits came from its phytonutrients. And she found it interesting that phytonutrients were in many foods.
She wanted to inform people who don't like drinking coffee that they, too, could get plenty of the "amazing protective properties" of phytonutrients into their diet.
Two of the phytonutrients found in coffee beans are caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid. They are also found in a range of fruit, vegetables, herbs and spices.
Caffeic acid is found in dates, prunes, olives, potatoes, sunflower seed meal, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, star anise, spearmint, caraway, thyme, oregano, sage and rosemary.
Chlorogenic acid is found in prunes, blueberries, apples, pears, peaches, globe artichokes, potatoes, sunflower seeds, spearmint, sage and oregano.
Clare believes the effects of phytonutrients on the body help explain why people who eat a lot of vegetables, fruit and wholegrains are less likely to get type 2 diabetes and a range of cancers.
Phytonutrients work their magic on pathways in the body that reduce inflammation. They may kill cancer cells or "convert some carcinogenic chemicals into less toxic or non-toxic versions that the body can then clear".
"It gives people extra reasons and motivations to have a variety of these foods," she said.
"You'll be drip-feeding these phytonutrients that are helping your body work in its optimal way to keep you healthy and well.
"I hope understanding more about phytonutrients gives people a bigger respect for the poor old veggies that most people turn their nose up at."
A Not So Sweet Oxymoron
When we go shopping, we often get a giggle out of the labels on processed food.
There's always some new catchy marketing slogan ready to lure in eager customers looking for the next trend.
A lot of people are looking for low-GI foods these days, given the problems many people have with blood sugar, carbohydrate intake and diseases like insulin resistance, prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
When we came across low-GI sugar, we laughed out loud. Sounded like an oxymoron. Clare, the nutrition professor, agreed.
