Coffee is good for you!
According to the website www.celebritystarbucks.com many well-known faces like their cup of coffee: Madonna, Kate Hudson, Heidi Klum and Seal have all been sighted clutching a cup from that famous coffee house chain.
In an article in the Independent last Tuesday August 19th Jane Feinmann outlined some of the many benefits of drinking coffee. She pointed out that a large Starbucks has only 330mg of caffeine and apparently you have to have more than 550mg of caffeine in a single drink before it starts to have a dehydrating effect. This fact was based on a new review of coffee studies carried out by the US Center for Science in the Public Interest.
Coffee and high blood pressure
Another myth that was knocked on the head in this article was the popular belief that those suffering from high blood pressure should avoid coffee. In a series of clinical trials carried out by the University of California there was no evidence that coffee increased the risk of heart attacks. Those who regularly drink colas with a high caffeine content are more likely to develop high blood pressure, this is not the case for those drinking coffee as was discovered in a 2005 study by the university when they had monitored 155,000 nurses for 12 years. The fact that these regular coffee drinkers did not develop high blood pressure could well be linked to the non-caffeine contents of coffee, for example its many antioxidants.
Benefits include…
Other benefits of coffee include the feel-good factor the drink produces that some researchers believe can protect against depression. Research has also shown that caffeine could also reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Need for moderation
In the article she stresses the need for moderation and that too much caffeine can cause unpleasant side-effects such as symptoms similar to panic attacks and anxiety. It is also not an effective cure for a hangover particularly if combined with paracetamol which according to the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology can be potentially toxic.
Helps athletes recover
The most interesting subject in the article from my point of view was the study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in July. Professor John Hawley, head of the exercise metabolism group at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria Australia, discovered that if athletes have a high caffeine dose in a sports drink (the equivalent of five – six cups of strong coffee) with their usual intake of carbohydrates immediately after exercise and then again two hours later, the amount of carbohydrate that could be stored as energy by the muscles was about 60 per cent higher with the caffeine than without it.
Fantastic news for coffee lovers
All coffee lovers are going to be over the moon about this news, ex-coffee drinkers who gave up because they thought their favourite cup was bad for them can now come back and gymnasiums can start having coffee pumped directly to all their machines. This of course is not the case and even though the research seems to point to the benefits of coffee, I would still advise you that this is not the first time that a product that formally had negative prospects for people’s health, suddenly seems like the answer to all health problems as a result of new research . At the end of the day don’t expect a miracle by drinking coffee, like all drinks and food that is considered bad for your health, they are all fine within moderation and part of a mainly healthy diet. If you already suffer from a heart condition or have high blood pressure then I would still avoid stimulants like coffee, whilst they may not be the death of you by themselves they are certainly not going to help.
Enjoy your Coffee but just don’t over do it!
To read Jane Feinmann’s Independent article in full see: www.independent.co.uk
August 26th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
This whole topic is retarded. We knew 50 years ago that smoking was bad for you back then with the primitive medical practices, limited research, and old technology … BACK THEN.
1,000 years of human consumption of coffee, another 50 years of regular medical research studies published in the papers every week, the continued flow of this conflicting information or that, etc., and there’s still no end to this “inconclusive” debate.
This suggests wither gross medical research incompetence or a financial interest of keeping the “debate” alive when the dead horse has been flogged many times over already. Either way, it makes the medical community look like complete bozos.
August 26th, 2008 at 9:07 pm
Interesting coffee research.
I continue to shape my views on coffee and dehydration. I have clients that drink coffee like water.
Good stuff. Keep up the great work!
–Corey
August 27th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
I think the key here is everything in moderation. There is nothing wrong with a dose or two of caffeine everyday. I would consider the source though, I personally think that green tea has more health benefits and will still give you the kick you are looking for without all the fat and calories like some of the beverages at starbucks. I say caffeine is great in moderate doses. Anything overdone will take its toll on you no matter what it is.
August 28th, 2008 at 12:13 am
was just reading an article before I found this one called Drinking Coffee is a Health Lifestyle Choice,” that made some excellent points on the benefits of coffee drinking. I suggest reading it.
September 3rd, 2008 at 10:37 pm
I agree with Jordan. Too much of anything is a bad thing. I think it’s the people who form habits for a certain food or drink that feed off the constant studies done on everything so they can find a loop hole and an excuse to continue what they know is not doing any good to their health. Portion control is key. Anything can be bad or good for us, it all depends on how we eat or drink it.
April 3rd, 2009 at 12:01 am
Thats really an interesting post.My problem has been that I over-drink coffee.Around 5-7 cups a day.I have struggled to give up coffee and started on the decaf.I thought that my increasing acne may be somehow related to coffee,so I had stopped it.But its good to know the benefits of drinking coffee in a moderate way.
Pinky