Science points to a compound in coffee and chocolate that slows down aging

Coffee, that beverage without which many do not feel fully awake, appears to be related to favorable changes in cellular aging, according to recent research that analyzed molecular biomarkers associated with biological age.

The discovery focuses especially on theobromine, an alkaloid found mainly in cocoa and, to a lesser extent, in coffee and tea.

The scientific journal Aging has been responsible for publishing this study, in which it was observed that people with higher concentrations of theobromine in the blood presented a slower biological aging, according to two models known as “epigenetic clocks”, which estimate biological age based on chemical modifications of DNA.

Average age 60

The research was divided into two groups: 509 women from the TwinsUK study and 1,160 men and women from the KORA group in Germany, with a average age of 60 years. In both cases, blood levels of theobromine were measured and DNA methylation patterns, a key process for regulating gene expression, were analyzed.

The results showed that high levels of this compound were associated with a slower rate of cellular aging.

Jordana Bell, professor of epigenomics at King’s College London and lead author of the study, explained: “What our results suggest is that theobromine may be influencing the activity of certain genes and this, in turn, may be related to aging and health.”

The authors emphasize that this is an association and not a causal relationship. However, the study did not analyze the participants’ diets in detail, so it is not possible to determine whether the elevated theobromine levels were directly due to the consumption of chocolate, coffee, or tea, or in what quantities.

Furthermore, the data collected corresponds to a single measurement in time, which makes it impossible to observe how these levels might influence long-term aging.

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