Coffee Drinkers Health Benefits
Recently, coffee has made the news headlines a few times. It's said to lower your risk of liver disease and some cancers and dying from a stroke. It reduces inflammation and boosts brain function. Also, it won't damage your health as once believed... within a limit.
To be safe, many studies point to 3 or 4 cups of coffee as the dose and possible maximum due to the caffeine level. The psychoactive and stimulatory effects caffeine presents raises concern for mental health professionals. And it doesn't help if you are sensitive to it and are having trouble sleeping.
Just lately, researchers from the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh reviewed papers publishes since the turn of the century. They compared non-coffee drinkers to coffee drinkers and concluded a "risk reduction for various health outcomes at three to four cups a day, and more likely to benefit health than harm."
A few weeks earlier, researchers from the University of Colorado analysed three long-running studies and presented Drinking coffee may be associated with reduced risk of heart failure and stroke at the American Heart Association Meeting. They used machine learning to filter through the mass of data. What popped out of the other end was a consistent link between drinking coffee and a decreased risk of heart failure and stroke.
Earlier in the year, the researchers from the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh published a review that showed coffee drinkers get health benefits to their livers. The authors implied coffee as a lifestyle intervention in chronic liver disease as it cuts your risk of developing liver cancer.
Plus, a combination of research on 7,000 Italian men and laboratory tests validates drinking more than 3 Italian-style coffees a day. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer by Neuromed, Italy, shows a prostate cancer risk is reduced by more than 50 percent.
However, it's important to point out the warnings... while pregnant, drinking a lot of caffeine is linked to babies being born underweight or with birth defects. Plus, too much caffeine can cause a miscarriage. Also, caffeine can kill. A teenager died in the classroom of caffeine overdose after downing latte, energy drink and Mountain Dew.
Alternatively, as the researchers from the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh pointed out, even decaffeinated coffee can have a protective effect. It's believed to be due to the antioxidants coffee contains and your body's ability to absorb them.
With that in mind, coffee provides a huge amount of antioxidants. The antioxidant power of an espresso is measured at 129 while green tea only provides 18. Whereas, decaf coffee packs in 93. And when you look at the number of antioxidants that actually get into your bloodstream, coffee wipes the floor with all others tested. Fruit and veg and grains and teas and wines combined will only provide half the amount of coffee.[1]
It's safe to say coffee and decaf is good for you. It's no wonder the Mediterranean coffee drinkers are living healthy long lives.