Is coffee good or bad for your health? There are some health risks and some health benefits for coffee drinkers.

The Harvard Women’s Health Watch in its article weighs the pros and cons of this popular beverage and eases the concerns of moderate coffee drinkers. The conclusion is: if you are the moderate drinker - a few cups a day - coffee is a safe beverage that may even offer some health benefits. Studies show that the risk for type 2 diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers, coffee may reduce the risk of developing gallstones, discourage the development of colon cancer, improve cognitive function, reduce the risk of liver damage in people at high risk for liver disease, and reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease.

On the other hand coffee does have modest cardiovascular effects such as increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and occasional irregular heartbeat that should be considered, etc. But, the negative effects of coffee tend to emerge in excessive drinking. So you can enjoy in your coffee, but it is best to avoid heavy consumption.

Coffee. Everyone has, does, or will drink it at some point in time. It is a staple in households, offices, and every restaurant. It is the most traded commodity in the world after petroleum. You have probably heard somebody talk about how bad coffee is for you. You may not be aware that coffee also has a significant health benefit.

Until recently coffee has been mainly used for the caffeine to aid in mental alertness. Since the rise in popularity of natural foods and diets rich in antioxidants, coffee has been scrutinized more carefully. It has been found that the biomarker for detecting oxidized DNA is greatly reduced in humans. This has led to even more studies to see whether or not coffee is actually preventing oxidation of DNA.

Coffee actually has an abundance of antioxidants that can help to prevent disease. According to the research, Columbian and Ugandan coffee performed the very best at preventing oxidation. The brewing methods that provide the most benefit are drip/filter brewing and Italian brewing. Espresso methods diminished the antioxidant content slightly but, not enough to really make a difference with one exception. The decaf espresso was 25-30% less effective at preventing oxidation.

If you are rejoicing that coffee will save you from aging, hold on a minute. It is very interesting to note that the researchers had to include Vitamin C to activate the antioxidants. Without the Vitamin C….the coffee was terrible at preventing oxidation! So, make sure you are taking your multi-vitamin and eating plenty of fresh fruit.

It turns out that coffee is a much better antioxidant than coco, black tea or even Vitamin C alone but without the presence of other antioxidants coffee will do you no good.

Other studies have found significant health benefits from drinking coffee also. Coffee inhibits gallstones. It lessens the affects of asthma. It inhibits histamine and allergic reactions.

Coffee has also been shown that it may have an effect on cardiac diseases, primarily heart disease, the number one killer in first world countries. The effects come from the antioxidants and the LDL (bad) cholesterol lowering properties. While there are a number of benefits that can be gained from drinking coffee it can also cause complications if you have a heart conditions. This is caused by the caffeine. It is one of the reasons why decaffeinated versions of various coffees were also included in the test. The decaf coffee performed equally as well unless it was made with the espresso method as mentioned above.

Coffee is one of the worlds most frequently consumed beverages. Just about every country in the world drinks it and studies show that it has great potential to provide a significant health benefit to a wide variety of illnesses. It can help to prevent or reduce symptoms and in some cases it can even protect you from disease.

Some people have given coffee a bad name. Just remember, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, take your multi-vitamin and Omega-3’s and enjoy your morning brew!

Studies indicate coffee reduces the risk for diabetes and Parkinson’s

Some studies have shown that coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes. After analyzing data on 120,000 people over an 18-year period (1), researchers at Harvard have concluded that drinking 1 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee each day can reduce diabetes risk by several percentage points, compared with not drinking coffee at all.

Even more significant, is the fact that in this study, having 6 cups or more per day slashed men’s risk by 54% and women’s risk by 30% over those who avoided coffee. This study is the latest of hundreds of studies which suggest that coffee may be something of a health food - especially in higher amounts.

Over the past 20 years, over 19,000 studies have been conducted to examine the impact of coffee on one’s health. Overall, the results are good news for the 110 million Americans who routinely enjoy this traditional morning ritual.

“By and large, the studies (2) show that coffee is far more beneficial than it is harmful,” says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, researcher at Vanderbilt University’s Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own research and tracks coffee studies around the globe. For most individuals, studies show that very little bad comes from drinking coffee, but a lot of good.

At least 6 studies (3) indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis have up to 80% lower risks of developing Parkinson’s disease, with 3 of those studies indicating that the more coffee they drink, the lower the risk. Other studies indicate that, compared to not drinking coffee, drinking at least 2 cups per day can lead to a 25% lower risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in the risk of liver cirrhosis, and nearly 50% the risk of gallstones.

Studies indicate that it might be both those factors.

“The evidence is very strong that regular coffee consumption reduces the risk for Parkinson’s disease and that in the case of Parkinson’s disease, the benefits are directly related to caffeine,” according to Dr. DePaulis (2).

Researchers believe that some of coffee’s reported beneficial effects are a direct result of its higher caffeine content: An 8-ounce cup of coffee contains about 85 mg of caffeine - about 3 times more than the same serving of tea or soda.

In another study (4), researchers looked at the coffee consumption and caffeine intake in 8,000 Japanese-American men. During the course of the study which lasted nearly 30 years, about 100 men developed Parkinson’s disease. The risk of developing Parkinson’s decreased gradually as the daily consumption of coffee rose from 4 ounces to more than 24 ounces per day.

In addition, the researchers found the same decrease in risk regardless of the source of caffeine. The men whose intake was less than 2.8 milligrams of caffeine per day were nearly 3 times more likely to develop Parkinson’s than those whose caffeine intake was more than 107 milligrams from non-coffee sources.

Coffee and reduced diabetes risks

But other benefits can be derived from coffee which have nothing to do with caffeine. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, including a group of compounds called “quinines” which when administered to rats in a laboratory, increases their insulin sensitivity. The increased sensitivity improves the body’s response to insulin.

Researchers don’t know exactly why coffee is beneficial for diabetes. Coffee also contains large quantities of the antioxidants tocopherols and chlorogenic acid, as well as minerals such as magnesium. All of those components have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism.

This may explain why in the Harvard study (1), those drinking decaffeinated coffee also showed a reduced diabetes risk, although the reduction in risk was 50% that of those drinking caffeinated coffee.

Coffee and cavities

Some researchers believe another compound called “trigonelline” - which gives coffee its bitter taste and its aroma - may be responsible for giving coffee both anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties which help prevent dental cavities from forming.

Coffee consumption and moderation

On the other hand, it is clear that coffee is not for everyone. In excessive amounts - meaning more than whatever an individual’s body can tolerate - coffee can cause nervousness, jitters, and rapid heartbeat.

Although studies investigating any relationship between higher cholesterol levels and coffee have yielded conflicting results, it is believed that in some people, drinking excessive amounts of coffee might cause elevated cholesterol levels (5).

However, coffee drinkers who consume filtered coffee should not worry themselves with respect to cholesterol levels, because research indicates that it is the coffee oils which are mainly responsible for the rise in cholesterol in people who drink nonfiltered or boiled coffee.

Most recent large studies show no significant adverse affects on most healthy people, although pregnant women, heart patients, and those at risk for osteoporosis may still be advised to limit or avoid coffee.

All in all, I certainly believe that coffee and caffeine are far less dangerous than soda. especially the “diet”  kind.

One thing is certain: coffee is usually one of the most heavily sprayed crops, and is often contaminated with pesticides, fertilizers and herbicides. Therefore if you do drink coffee, you would be well advised to drink organic coffee only.

It is also a good idea to avoid putting milk and sugar in your coffee. The milk and sugar in your coffee are in fact much worse for you than the coffee itself.

Finally, use only non-bleached filters. White coffee filters, which most coffee drinkers use, are bleached with chlorine and some of this chlorine will end up in your coffee during the brewing process.

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References

(1) Annals of Internal Medicine, January 2004; vol 140; pp 1-8.

(5) American Journal of Epidemiology February 15, 2001; 153: 353-362

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