Although our expertise is very much more about drinking coffee than eating it, we were interested to hear about some new Australian research by biomedical scientists. Apparently, eating used coffee grounds could be the latest weapon in the battle against obesity.
Scientists at the University of Southern Queensland have spent seven years researching the properties of used coffee grounds to see if and how they can benefit us.
The leading professor, Lindsay Brown, conducted a trial in which male rats were given a diet high in fats and carbohydrates over a four-month period. For the last two months of the trial, they were also given used coffee grounds. The rats gained weight from their diet, but after eating the coffee for eight weeks showed an interesting range of reactions. Blood pressure dropped, blood sugar returned to normal and fatty liver deposits reduced.
Although the findings have been initially promising, the team have yet to progress to a human trial. Professor Brown, though, has such faith in his research that he has been eating the coffee grounds himself as an experiment. After his morning cup of coffee, he has been drying the used grounds in the oven then adding it to recipes such as cakes and bread. He says that results are unlikely to be rapid, but that eating coffee is “likely to decrease obesity and improve your blood pressure over time.” He also points out the benefit from decreased food waste and reduced landfill.
He does say, though, that the trial is still in its early days and consumers should wait for more research and clinical tests before starting to eat coffee themselves.
While we’d be really interested in seeing more research done in this area, we think we’ll stick to drinking coffee for now! If that’s your preferred method of consumption too, then take a look at our main website. We’ve got top quality coffee beans, ground coffee and coffee accessories, all available to buy online at great wholesale prices.