The Coffee Plant's
Best Kept Secret

A new review on mangiferin was just published and it's an enlightening and exciting look on the coffee leaf's hero antioxidant. Let's take a look at some of the highlights (entire study is here). Tumors thrive in chronic inflammation due to increasing infiltration of cytokines, growth factors, and chemokines to the tumor microenvironment. Phenolic compounds (antioxidants) are considered natural remedies for inflammation and cancer. Mangiferin possesses numerous pharmacological activities. It has the potential to attenuate inflammation in different organs through the mechanisms of inhibiting pattern recognition receptors, regulating cell signalling pathways, activating autophagy (removal of dysfunctional cells), inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory mediators, and protecting intestinal barrier integrity, which in turn prevents cancer. In addition, mangiferin also possessed potentially beneficial effects on diabetes, liver injury, cardiovascular injury, and other inflammation-related diseases in animal models through its anti-inflammatory effect.   The figure above shows the anti-inflammatory molecular mechanisms of mangiferin at different levels, detailing its effects on inflammation in relation to cytokines and autophagy. The anti-inflammatory mechanisms of mangiferin include inhibiting the inflammatory response, activating autophagy, improving glucose, lipid, and energy metabolisms, regulating cell signaling pathways, inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory mediators, and improving metabolic syndrome.    The above chart details the relationship between mangiferin and its effects on inflammatory markers, which directly impact tumor growth and cancer risk. Below are some of the related findings: The sensitivity of cancer cells to anticancer drugs was enhanced by mangiferin through suppressing NF-κB pathway. Mangiferin triggered autophagy and exhibited the potential chemotherapeutic capacity for pancreatic cancer. In lunger cancer cells, mangiferin up-regulated tumor suppressor genes. Mangiferin also helps to restore the intestinal barrier function, which may ameliorate intestinal inflammation and slowing tumor growth Mangiferin might attenuate brain damage via inhibiting inflammasome activation and simultaneously suppressing oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory cytokines.   "Overall, mangiferin, a natural small polyphenol compound, has a wide range of sources and bioactivities, and potentially functions as a novel therapeutic agent for inflammation and cancer treatments, thereby, has promising development and application prospects."   There are more studies coming out around the world about mangiferin every month. This is an exciting new avenue for treatment of many ailments, and the team at Wize is keen to see where this goes. Cheers to discovering more about the natural world!

As the leaders of coffee leaf innovation, we've been tracking all the scientific studies about the compounds in coffee leaves since 2013. We've know for almost a decade that coffee leaves are very healthy for you for many reasons, yet we've been very patient and cautious about making claims because we want to take our time and ensure the findings are sound (like any good scientist would, frankly). We are not ones to embellish things because it will sell product - we'll leave that to the fad brands and diet products of late-night TV commercials.To centralize all of the existing research out there, we just launched our new Research Hub where you can find the different compounds in the coffee leaf with their respective health benefits link to source studies.A unique aspect of the coffee leaf, in regards to health sciences, is that it is one of nature's richest sources of a rare antioxidant called mangiferin. The scientific community has been exploring this elusive compound more vigorously in the last 10 years as it is showing promise to treat a plethora of disorders, diseases, and ailments, as well as boasting general health advantages for everyday use.A new study has shown that mangiferin is devoid of pro-oxidant activity and is thus superior to conventional antioxidants. It prevents the age-specific changes in various enzymes, alleviates cognitive impairment, improves damage in the hippocampus and has neuroprotective effects (protects brain neurons).   As you will see in the Research Hub (and a quick Google search), mangiferin is quickly becoming a top research priority in the medical space thanks to its many promising test results for everything from reducing tumour cell size to lowering insulin resistance. Feel to dig into the studies and learn more about your favourite beverage. Cheers to health!

Do you know how much sugar you’re drinking? Our body doesn’t always know what’s best for us. It usually knows what it wants, but the same cannot be said for what it should have. The American Heart Association recommends a daily sugar intake of 36 grams for men and 26 grams for women, however many drinks contain more than that in just a single serving. Beware of juices, believe it or not Juices will often masquerade behind the guise of “healthiness,” or being packed full of fruits and vegetables, but these beverages rarely live up to the benefits that they claim.   “This drink equates to 17 teaspoons of sugar. If you can think of eating 17 teaspoons of sugar, that would be disgusting.” - Walter Willett Bottled iced teas are typically over 40g of sugar  In the realm of iced tea, you’ll find brands like Snapple which has 40 grams of sugar per bottle, Pure Leaf which has 42 grams of sugar, or Gold Peak Georgia Peach Tea which has 45 grams of sugar per bottle (find more surprisingly unhealthy drinks here). Over 40 grams of sugar for something that is meant to be “healthy” and “clean” ingredients. Come on folks, let’s get real here! Can you imagine pouring 10 teaspoons of sugar into one tall glass of homemade iced tea? Of course not! But that’s it equates to.   42 grams of sugar in one bottle vs 42 cans of Wize™ iced tea We laid out how much sugar there is in one bottle of iced tea from a leading brand and compared it to Wize™ iced tea, which is just one gram of sugar. The difference is truly remarkable:   Harvard’s Professor of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Walter Willett, is scared for the future, and this was in 2009:   “One bottle of sugary beverage per day causes a 60% increase in obesity in children”   See Harvard’s chart below, or click this link for the full PDF How did we get to this point?  How is society so desensitized to high amounts of sugar? It has become not only an issue of epidemic proportions, but it’s also hurting our ability to taste subtle flavours as we bombard our taste buds with astronomical amounts of sugar that would never happen in nature. “If your expectation of sweetness is so high, it’s difficult to appreciate the subtle sweetness of a fresh apple and it can push our whole diet in the wrong direction.”   This is what is so scary While there has been a general awakening around sugar consumption, the existing alternative sweeteners aren’t necessarily proven to be the silver-bullet solution as researchers have found that they can still increase insulin resistance, essentially defeating their entire purpose. While the search for a healthy alternative sweetener still continues, maybe we should ask ourselves “do we really think we’ll find some magical answer? or should we simply cut it back and recalibrate our taste buds?” We believe that it’s time to be realistic, before it’s too late.   “There has been a 300 calorie daily increase over the last few years, with half of that being caused by sugary beverages.” - Walter Willett, Harvard   According to some estimates, about a quarter of children in the United States, and more than 40% of adults, are currently consuming low calorie sweeteners. But, are artificial sweeteners as harmless as people seem to think? Research from a few years ago suggested that artificial sweeteners can still promote diabetes and obesity. And now, a new study adds to the evidence that sweeteners may have undeniable metabolic effects. In fact, the latest study suggests that merely tasting something sweet could alter our metabolism and glucose control. The solution? Cut back sugar and sweeteners to recalibrate our sensitivity It’s probably not what you want to hear, but it’s really the only way forward to live a healthy life for generations to come. If you really think that some miracle guilt-free, side-effect-free sweetener is going to just land in our lap and solve the diabetes and obesity crisis, keep dreaming. The human body is trying to tell us that we are not meant to consume high amounts of sweetness in general and we just keep trying to cheat the system.  We need to start listening to our body and Wize up to our sugar intake, recalibrate it, and then we’ll see how sweet a real apple is, how satisfying a strawberry can be, and how delicious a real iced tea can taste with just a touch of sweetness. Now that's Wize.