Synthetic Versus Natural Caffeine And How Each May Affect Aging

Authored by Vance Voetberg via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

From Starbucks to Red Bull to Coke, caffeine has become an energy bump for 75 percent of Americans who consume it on a daily basis. Many count it as the spark that ignites their brains and bodies to get through a long day.

Ivan Kurmyshov/Shutterstock

However, not all caffeine presents itself the same, according to emerging research demonstrating that synthetic caffeine may accelerate aging while naturally occurring caffeine could slow age-related decline.

Does Synthetic Caffeine Accelerate Aging?

The type of caffeine in your coffee may play a role in its protective effect against aging.

About 60 percent of the caffeine consumed by Americans is synthesized in a lab, meaning it doesn’t come from natural sources such as coffee beans or tea plants. Synthetic caffeine is what popular companies such as Pepsi, Coke, and Red Bull add to their beverages to give their drinks an extra kick. 

In a 2017 study published in Nutrition & Metabolism, higher caffeine intake was associated with shorter telomeres, a marker of cellular aging, in adults. However, increased coffee consumption was linked to longer telomeres. This suggests that compounds beyond caffeine may provide anti-aging effects.

“On the surface, it might be assumed that caffeine intake and coffee consumption are essentially the same variable,” the researchers wrote. “They are not.”

These findings echo earlier ones that greater coffee consumption was associated with longer telomeres among 4,780 female nurses in the United Kingdom. 

However, a 2023 study published in Nutrients found instant coffee to be negatively associated with telomere length, potentially because of higher DNA-damaging mineral lead content. Standard filtered coffee showed no adverse effect.

Research also indicates that green tea could protect against telomere shortening, while synthetic caffeine indicated DNA damage. The authors of a study investigating green tea, coffee, and caffeine from soft drinks reported findings that might help inform drink choice.

“We suggest beneficial effects of green tea consumption and potentially disadvantageous effects of soft drink consumption on LTL [leukocyte telomere length] shortening, which may reflect accelerated biological aging,” they wrote. 

Coffee and Tea’s Anti-Aging Secrets

Multiple antioxidant compounds present in coffee and tea likely contribute to their anti-aging effects, according to some research.

Studies show that coffee and tea protect DNA integrity and reduce oxidative damage. In one randomized controlled study involving 50 men and 50 women, dark roast coffee reduced DNA damage by 23 percent in just four weeks. Similar results were identified in a separate eight-week interventional study that included 96 adults.

“Caffeine that is found in coffee or tea exists in a matrix of over 1,000 other chemical compounds, most notably polyphenolic compounds that have potent antioxidant effects,” David Wiss, who holds a doctorate in public health and is a registered dietitian nutritionist, told The Epoch Times. Polyphenols are known to reduce oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals that can cause cellular damage, he added. For this reason, he said, both coffee and tea have anti-inflammatory properties that “isolated caffeine does not offer.”

Although coffee and tea have demonstrated protective effects against neurogenerative conditions such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, some research shows that isolated caffeine fails to protect against neurodegeneration. Coffee may still be the best source of caffeine to protect against Alzheimer’s disease because of a component in it that synergizes with caffeine to enhance protection against disease progression.

How Much Is Too Much Caffeine?

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommends consuming no more than 400 milligrams of caffeine, the amount in four to five cups of coffee, daily.

Whereas a naturally caffeinated food such as chocolate contains about 12 milligrams of caffeine, and beverages such as coffee and tea contain up to 95 milligrams of natural caffeine per serving, energy drinks can contain as much as 300 grams of synthetic caffeine per serving.

This spike in caffeine content has been associated with heart attacks in young people, but some studies show that coffee and tea have cardioprotective effects.

But even with these reported benefits from coffee and tea, some experts advise caution.

The United States’ dependence on caffeine—both natural and synthetic—reflects an “addiction crisis” that is problematic, according to Mr. Wiss. “Our society is too reliant on caffeine as a stimulant,” he said.

He recommends eating breakfast before ingesting caffeine and waiting 60 to 90 minutes after waking before indulging in caffeinated beverages or other sources of caffeine.

“My other recommendation is to take a three-day (or longer) break from caffeine every three to six months,” he said.