Friday, April 04, 2008
Diet & Nutrition
Coffee - A Few Cups a Day, May Keep the Doctor Away
From HealthNewsDigest.com
Apr 9, 2007 - 12:03:36 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - Almost daily we are cautioned about the dangers of too much cholesterol, trans fat, sugar, and even white bread. Its refreshing to find out that sipping our much needed morning coffee may actually be good for us. In the US more than half of us drink coffee daily, averaging slightly over three cups a day and another 25% drink coffee occasionally. Dunkin Donuts sells 30 cups of brewed coffee every second of every day totally nearly 1 billion cups a year. (Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN, Food and Nutrition Columnist - HealthNewsDigest.com)
So, when did coffee join the ranks of a health beverage? Actually, in the 10th century Arabs consumed coffee for both religious and medicinal purposes. Coffee arrived in the US in 1607 with Captain John Smith and the Virginia colonists. It is the second most traded product in the world, after petroleum. Human consumption of coffee has a long, long history. Observing some of this history and judging it against health benefits and risks, offered some surprises for researchers.
We all know that fruits and vegetables are potent sources of antioxidants, but Americans get more antioxidants daily from coffee than any other dietary source. Though most fruits and vegetables have higher concentrations of antioxidants than coffee, we eat too few of them and drink far more of the other. Coffee has 4 times the antioxidant content of green tea and more antioxidants than red wine. What you may not realize is that coffee is a fruit. The coffee bean begins as a cluster of berries on the coffee tree.
Coffee, which is 99% water, is a complex beverage containing small amounts of many vitamins and minerals. Though not a major source, multiple cups daily makes coffee a contributor to our nutrient intake.
For most of us when we think coffee we think, wake-up and energize. Coffee or more specifically the caffeine it contains can increase alertness and stimulate performance in high-intensity, short-duration activities, like sprinting. As most of us know, drinking caffeinated coffee regularly is mildly addictive. And, stopping caffeine intake abruptly can cause headaches and other annoying symptoms. But, the caffeine habit is very easy to break and symptoms can be eliminated by reducing consumption gradually. Some of us carry a gene disposition for slow caffeine metabolism. For these unusually sensitive individuals, decafe is probably a better choice.
Whether it is decafe or regular, daily coffee consumption seems to have positive effects on our health. Men who drank 4 to 5 cups a day cut their risk for Parkinsons almost in half. A number of studies have shown that for both men and women who regularly drank coffee, they have a significantly decreased risk for type 2 diabetes. Women who drank at least 2 cups of decaffeinated coffee a day had over a 50% lower incidence of rectal cancer. Japanese researchers found that those who drank coffee daily had half the incidence of liver cancer of those who never or almost never drank it. All of these conclusions were drawn from studies with large numbers of subjects making the findings far more reliable.
When it comes to heart disease the research is inconclusive. Some studies show coffee raises blood pressure initially, but after time the effect is normalized. The Womens Health study showed that women who drank 1 to 3 cups a day reduced their risk of heart disease by 24%. But as the quantity of coffee went up, the benefit decreased. Some researchers think the high antioxidant activity of coffee helps to reduce inflammation which may be the reason for heart disease reduction seen in coffee drinkers.
There is no question that coffee can worsen anxiety and cause heartburn. For those with either, limiting intake is wise. A switch to decafe can lessen anxiety, but both decafe and caffeinated coffee irritates gastric reflux (burping and heartburn). Pregnant women have long been cautioned to go easy on coffee, and that advice still stands. A small cup or two a day is fine, but more is not wise. Heavy consumption has been linked to lower birth weight and miscarriage. Coffee has also been implicated in raising cholesterol levels. This seems to occur when the coffee is made boiled and unfiltered or by the French press method. Filtered, drip coffee, the brew of choice throughout America, does not raise cholesterol.
If you are a coffee drinker, there is no need to stop. If you are not, increasing coffee consumption to avoid disease may work but youd probably get more health benefits from a few more fruits and vegetables each day. Everyones intake should be moderate. When the researchers talk about 3 to 5 cups a day, they are referring to 3 to 5 eight-ounce cups, not 3 to 5 twenty-ounce mocha grandees with added syrup and whipped cream. One ounce of coffee with cream and sugar equals 10 calories. Go easy, coffee calories can add up.
© NRH Nutrition Consultants, Inc.
Jo-Ann Heslin, MA, RD, CDN is a registered dietitian and the author of 26 consumer nutrition books. The latest is The Diabetes Carbohydrate and Calorie Counter, 3rd ed., Pocket Books, 2007. For more information on Jo-Ann and her books, go to www.TheNutritionExperts.com.