Decaf Coffee: Healthy or Unhealthy?

Decaf is short for decaffeinated coffee.

It's coffee from coffee beans that have had at least 97% of their caffeine removed. So it's not completely caffeine free.

There are many safe ways to remove caffeine from raw coffee beans. Most of them include water, organic solvents or carbon dioxide.

This process leaves the nutritional value of decaf similar to regular coffee, apart from the caffeine content.

So there's no issues with the caffeine removal process itself, but how does the end product compare to the health benefits of regular coffee?

Regular coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the Western diet, more than we get from fruits and vegetables combined. Antioxidants are molecules thought to help protect against numerous lifestyle diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Decaf usually contains similar amounts of antioxidants to regular coffee, although some studies have found levels can be up to 15% lower due to losses in the decaffeination process.

Despite this potential small drop in antioxidants, numerous studies have found strong associations between decaf coffee consumption and health benefits.

Drinking coffee, both regular and decaf, has been linked with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Each daily cup may reduce the risk up to 7%.

The effects of decaf on liver function are not as well studied as regular coffee, but one large observational study linked decaf with reduced liver enzyme levels, which suggests a protective effect.

Drinking decaf has also been linked with a small but significant reduction in the risk of premature death, as well as death from stroke or heart disease.

Both regular and decaf coffee also seem to have positive effects on age-related mental decline, with human cell studies showing decaf may protect neurons in the brain. This could help prevent the development of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Where regular coffee has the greatest edge over decaf is all the health effects associated with caffeine, obviously. Things like improved energy, mood, metabolic rate, and athletic performance.

But otherwise decaf coffee is still a great choice if you are sensitive to caffeine or have a medical condition that will benefit from a caffeine-restricted diet.

It's perfectly safe and carries most of the same benefits as regular coffee, just without the caffeine side effects.

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Studies mentioned in video:

[watchtheskies]

Changing to Decaf has definitely improved my health because I get more sleep and deeper sleep

[jflsdknf]

I love decaf...I get to enjoy coffee and load up on antioxidants without having to worry about sleeping at night

[io]

Caffeine causes me all sorts of issues. My quality of life has improved significantly since I stopped drinking caffeinated beverages including fizzy drinks and alcoholic beverages. Been doing so for around a year now. I think the majority of people forget that caffeine is a drug at the end of the day.

[mufasa]

It was very pleasant to find that the difference in taste between regular coffee and decaffeinated coffee is minimal

[Woofwoof]

I can’t drink reg coffee, it accelerates my heart. In other hand, the decaf reduces that

[willr]

I was a paramedic for 17 years, 24 sometimes up to 72 hour shifts required lots of caffeine, although we had a station house with beds we rarely got more the 3 hours sleep and it was broken up in between 911 calls, so maybe an hour of sleep then we would go on a call, come back get 45 minutes and then a call so my job required lots of coffee and later energy drinks, I developed severe anxiety due to the bad stuff I saw and caffeine made it way worse, one day I bought a cup of Starbucks and later drank a coke and I ended up in the ER with a blood pressure if 278 over 170, they did test and tried medication but the only thing that brought it down was giving up caffeine, so now it's been 7 months and I miss coffee, so I started drinking decaf and it's been great so far, although my fellow coffee drinkers look at me like I'm crazy lol

[hensd]

I love the video, I'm dyslexic so reading is hard. Watching and listening helps me learn. Thank you

[ppmutrd]

I've tried several decafs, over 100 actually. I am like the decaf go-to guy for my friend group, since I have had issues with caffeine in the past. I find that naturally processed coffees (water decaffeination) is the best tasting, and the best for the earth to be honest. If you can find a certified organic one, that's even better. Grinding them fresh before brew is key, and keeping them in the freezer is even better if you buy in bulk. The best decaf coffee I have found is by a boutique roaster in New Jersey called Ambee Coffee Co., it's called Luna Decaf. Highly recommend.

[applejacksfdfdsw]

Good video regarding caff vs decaf details. One little note: Caffeine, including all other words that end in "eine" or "ine" like dexadrine, cocaine, amphetamine or methamphetamine are all types of SPEED which basically increase the heart rate to above normal levels (also called stress) which in return have many negative side affects such as a fast or irregular heart beat, the jitters, body deterioration, addiction, loss of appetite, etc, etc, etc. Many times you hear people mention the affects of speed by calling it " improved mood, increased energy, etc, etc." but in the end, all types of speed help to burn out your heart just a little bit faster than if you had sustained from using coffee or caffeine in the first place. If you can avoid any type of caffeine, your life will be better for it. I'm not a doctor, a lawyer or even a politician. Common sense carries me everywhere.

[Neil_MALTHUS]

I love both coffee & decaf. Where he mentions decaf lacks the positive qualities of caffeine itself, we must remember most animals on the planet do very well for themselves with zero caffeine in their diet. We didn't evolve to need caffeine and therefore, whilst a little boost from regular coffee might be pleasant (beneficial, even), if you drink more than a few cups of coffee a day, I'd consider switching most of them to decaf. Moreover, we shouldn't forget that caffeine is also present in chocolate and even some medicines so it's worth the switch to decaf.

[thecasualfront]

You know you can trust a random guy in his living room

[davidsen]

I really appreciate that you could read the description if you didn't want to watch the video or have a bad connection, and also that all the studies and sources are listed. Rare to see that and it gives so much credibility.

[googlegoogle]

Decaf has reduced my anxiety and GERD symptoms.

[JudyChilds-fuem]

I am seriously caffeine intolerant...!!!

[Pepuskhan]

I have started with decaf, I am feeling good 😊

[aitor]

Finally you gusy created a youtube channel!! thanks for all the info and good work that you do.

[Rayify]

i quit coffee, found i was happier, less tired, needed 2 to 3 hours less sleep a night, i wake up refreshed every quit over 6 months cutting back from 5 plus cups a day to 1 cup a week to zero....some times a dcaf still had bad headaches for a month

[rustichealthy]

So happy to hear I can enjoy my a.m. organic coffee decaf or caf even more! Thank you, nice video, glad you're on YouTube now too.

[martinapavlin]

Your work its great, guys. Videos and e-meils are short, trustful and really what we need to know... I realy like to read them every day. Im sure yr channel will succeed!! Just keep going!! 🍀

[rulerofall]

Decafe helps with migraines due to its calming affect.