Coffee For Your Health
By Hilda Maria Sigurdardottir, Fri Dec 9th

Go Ahead…Have Some Coffee…

Many of us rely on coffee to get us going in the mornings, wakeus up in the afternoons, and prepare us for that specialbusiness meeting. Go ahead, have a cup of coffee. It’s muchhealthier than you may be thinking right now.

Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world. No matterwhere you go, coffee is usually available. Yet, until recentlythere’s been very little research on the effects of coffee onour health. The researcher’s are waking up however. There haverecently been studies completed on a variety of health benefitsto drinking that simply delicious cup of coffee.

In a study in Italy, it was proven that that brewed coffeecontains many antioxidants and consumption of antioxidant-richbrewed coffee may inhibit diseases caused by oxidative damages.When compared to other caffeine containing beverages like teaand cocoa, coffee proved to be the best in helping to preventdisease.

Caffeine in Coffee - Good or Bad?

The caffeine in coffee has often been a source of concern formany. Most people have problems sleeping when they drink coffeeright before bedtime. Others will drink coffee to give them thatboost of energy caffeine provides. Some even feel their heartrate increase if they drink too much coffee.

Did you know there are also benefits to the caffeine found incoffee?

Coffee intake (due to the caffeine) was associated with asignificantly lower risk for Alzheimer’s Disease, independentlyof other possible confounding variables. These results, withfuture prospective studies, may have a major impact on theprevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

Another benefit of drinking coffee has been studied in China.Their research clinically proved the caffeine in coffee helps toprevent Parkinson’s disease. Many of us have been led to believethat caffeine is bad for us. True enough, large quantities mayhurt us, but the evidence is strong for the benefits itprovides.

Coffee -- Healthy Tonic for the Liver?

Studies completed in Japan indicated that people who drink morethan a cup of coffee a day are less likely to develop livercancer than those who do not, Japanese researchers say. Coffeealso helped lower the risk of cirrhosis of the liver.Chlorogenic acid present in coffee beans has been proven instudies to also reduce the risk of liver cancer. Harvard MedicalSchool completed a study in 2004 that strongly suggest coffeehas preventative qualities for Type 2 diabetes and insulinresistance. The authors found an inverse association betweencoffee intake and type 2 diabetes after adjustment for age, bodymass index, and other risk factors. Total caffeine intake fromcoffee and other sources was associated with a statisticallysignificantly lower risk for diabetes in both men and women.These data suggest that long-term coffee consumption isassociated with a statistically significantly lower risk fortype 2 diabetes.

Coffee and Physical Fitness

The amounts of water, carbohydrate and salt that athletes areadvised to consume during exercise are based upon theireffectiveness in preventing both fatigue as well as illness dueto hyperthermia, dehydration or hyperhydration.

The old issues concerning coffee and caffeine were that it actsas a diuretic, thus causing more fluid loss during activity.Studies have caused researchers to re think this point. Thesestudies suggest that consuming caffeine does not have thiseffect and can even have beneficial effects on keeping the bodyfit.

Caffeine does not improve maximal oxygen capacity directly, butcould

permit the athlete to train at a greater power outputand/or to train longer. It has also been shown to increase speedand/or power output in simulated race conditions. These effectshave been found in activities that last as little as 60 secondsor as long as 2 hours.

There is less information about the effects of caffeine onstrength; however, recent work suggests no effect on maximalability, but enhanced endurance or resistance to fatigue. Thereis no evidence that caffeine ingestion before exercise leads todehydration, ion imbalance, or any other adverse effects.

What about the negative effects of coffee?

Coffee is enjoyed as a drink by millions of people worldwide. Itcontains caffeine, which is a mild stimulant, and in many peoplecoffee enhances alertness, concentration and performance.Although it contains a wide variety of substances, it isgenerally accepted that caffeine is responsible for many ofcoffee's physiological effects. Because caffeine influences thecentral nervous system in a number of ways and because a smallnumber of people may be particularly sensitive to these effects,some people have attributed coffee to all sorts of healthproblems.

Caffeine is not recognized as a drug of abuse and there is noevidence for caffeine dependence. Some particularly sensitivepeople may suffer mild symptoms of withdrawal after suddenabstention from coffee drinking. A 150ml cup of instant coffeecontains about 60mg caffeine, filtered coffee slightly more; forthose who like coffee but are sensitive to caffeine, thedecaffeinated beverage contains only 3mg per cup.

Coffee drinking can help asthma sufferers by improvingventilatory function.

There is no evidence that coffee drinking is a risk for thedevelopment of cancer. For several types of cancer there isdisagreement between studies but again, other aspects oflifestyle may be implicated. There is even a strong suggestionthat coffee may have a protective effect against colon cancer. Apossible explanation may lie in the many antioxidant substancespresent in coffee and which are currently subjects of activeresearch.

In some sensitive individuals, ingestion of coffee after aperiod of abstinence may cause a temporary rise in bloodpressure but there is no hypertensive effect in the long term.Coffee made by the Scandinavian method of boiling or by thecafetiere method may cause mild elevation of plasma cholesterolconcentration in some people, but instant, filter coffee, andliquid coffee extract have no such effects. Overall there is noinfluence of coffee drinking on heart disease risk.

There is no sound scientific evidence that modest consumption ofcoffee has any effects on outcomes of pregnancy or on thewellbeing of the child. Bone health is not affected by coffeedrinking. Adverse effects in some published studies have beenattributed to aspects of lifestyle that are often shared bycoffee drinkers, such as smoking and inactivity. Coffee drinkingcan help asthma sufferers by improving ventilatory function.

There is no reason for people who are prone to ulcers to avoidcoffee.

Research continues and must be subjected to critical scrutinyand re-evaluation. At the present time, there is no reason toforego the pleasurable experience of moderate coffee drinkingfor health reasons

About the author:Hilda Maria is the mother of five great children. Sheunderstands the need for a great cup of coffee ina flash and enjoys using a coffeemaker and fresh green coffeebeans to get it.