According to science, it’s a hot drink that your intestines absolutely love

If you are a coffee lover – i 63 percent of Britons are – you probably wonder sometimes whether you should reduce your daily caffeine intake. But if the new research, published in Nature microbiology by Zoe, is whatever, maybe you don’t need to worry about it.

After analyzing gut microbiome data from 22,000 people, Zoe researchers found that those who drank regularly and consistently coffee can be recognized by the presence of a specific microorganism. Called lawsonibacter, the study found it was eight times more common in coffee drinkers than in non-coffee drinkers.

“The microbe lawsonibacter hangs around in lethargy, just waiting for a cup of coffee to bloom,” explains Professor Tim Spector, co-founder of Zoe, who describes this specific microbe as “very finicky.” “This gives us new insight into how much we need a wide variety of plants in our diet to properly nourish all of our gut microbes and reap the health benefits.” This is the strongest link between a specific food or drink and a specific bacteria ever identified – and you don’t have to drink caffeinated coffee to reap the benefits, decaf coffee works too.

Coffee is made from fermented coffee beans, which are full of healthy chemicals and phytochemicals – including polyphenols – that can improve our health. You also consume about 1.5 g fiber with every cup of coffee you drink. Fiber fuels our gut microbes, which then produce short-chain fatty acids that help not only improve overall microbial health, but further support all aspects of our health – including our metabolic, digestive and immune systems.

So if you drink your morning coffee, know that it does more for your body than just gives you energy. Win-win!