Healthier coffee? A New Hampshire chemist has the secret—and it involves red wine
What if you could have your coffee with all the benefits of red wine?
No, not the alcoholic effects (we’ve already seen how caffeine and booze don’t mix) but those heart-helping traits that have been keeping theFrench healthy for years. Glen Miller, who chairs the University of New Hampshire’s chemistry department, says he’s created a coffee that can do just that.
Dubbed Coffvee, Miller’s concoction infuses coffee beans with resveratrol, the naturally occurring antioxidant that is found in the skin of red grapes and is responsible for most of the health benefits of red wine.
“You don’t have to look very far to find hundreds of studies done over the last 20 years related to red wine,” Miller said. “In the last 10 years, those studies, including a lot of medical studies, had been focused on resveratrol.”
Miller referenced the “French paradox,” a concept noted by physicians years ago about how the French population as a whole has a much lower rate of coronary heart disease despite a diet that is rich in saturated fat. The way this contradictory observation is rationalized, Miller said, is the French population’s high consumption of red wine.
“Research suggests [resveratrol] is not only good for heart health but can help in other ways, as an antidepressive, with neuroprotective effects, et cetera,” Miller said. “As an organic chemist, I’m aware of these things, and it dawned on me, ‘You know, it would be nice if we could deliver the positive health benefits in other ways than red wine.’”
Though he thinks red wine is great, Miller notes that it can’t be consumed at any time of the day. His coffee has the same concentration of resveratrol in a cup as in a glass of red wine. Plus, coffee is a healthy drink on its own, Miller said.
“I don’t need to tell people what to think, they can read the studies themselves. The dial is moving increasingly towards coffee being a healthy drink,” Miller said. “That’s what we’re trying to do—We’re trying to change the way you think and drink coffee.”
After starting this project—Miller said along with chemistry, he’s always had an interest in entrepreneurial activities—he knew he was on the right path when he discovered data that said 83 percent of U.S. adults drink coffee, and the average coffee drinker in the U.S. consumes 3.1 cups a day.
Resveratrol is not an FDA regulated compound, Miller said, so while his coffee hasn’t undergone that testing, he’s confident that the chemistry world will keep studying the benefits of the micronutrient.
“One of my coworkers just brought to my attention this morning a press report about resveratrol and red wine consumption is in some ways equivalent to an hour’s worth of exercise,” he said. “It’s a hot area of research in the medical community.”
Harvard University researcher David Sinclair, who has pioneered much of the research on resveratrol and was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People for his anti-aging research based around the component, agreed that more information about its benefits keep emerging.
“There is increasing evidence that resveratrol can provide cardioprotection and even prevent cancer,” Sinclair said in an email. “As long as the resveratrol in coffee can withstand the heat of roasting and brewing, it should impart the same health benefits as pure resveratrol.”
