14 DAY TRIAL // Just in case anyone needed another reason to love and adore coffee, a new study carried out by scientists in Brazil found that protein fragments that are naturally occurring in this wondrous brew are similar to morphine in that they can relieve pain.
What's more, evidence obtained while experimenting on mice indicates that these bits and pieces of protein might have a longer-lasting effect than morphine does, which makes them all the more worthy of our attention.
How coffee could double as a pain reliever
This investigation into how coffee is kind of, sort of similar to morphine was carried out by a team of researchers working with the University of Brasilia and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation Embrapa.
In a report detailing their work, the scientists explain that, while closely examining the makeup of your average cup of coffee, they zoomed in on several peptides that appear to have analgesic and tranquilizing qualities.
The researchers refer to peptides as being essentially protein fragments. Specifically, they say that these naturally occurring biological molecules too are made of amino acids and that what distinguishes them from proteins is the fact that they are somewhat smaller.
In a series of experiments carried out on laboratory mice, the peptides were found to work better than morphine in terms of alleviating pain and stress. In a nutshell, their effect lasted longer than that of the opioid analgesic drug.
Why this research project and its findings matter
Mind you, the fact that coffee appears to contain biological molecules that are similar to morphine and that can serve to alleviate pain does not mean that we should all simply sip a cup whenever we get a headache and expect to feel better all of a sudden.
As explained by the University of Brasilia and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation Embrapa scientists behind this investigation, their find has the potential to revolutionize the health foods industry, but further studies are in order.
Interestingly enough, the researchers imagine their work benefiting not just people but also animals, be it in a rather gruesome way. Thus, they say that the newly discovered peptides could serve to calm cattle or other creatures before pushing them through the doors of a slaughterhouse.