Coffee contains many complex chemicals that have both beneficial and detrimental effects on your body.
The link which was once thought to exist between coffee, heart disease, cancer and other diseases may have been largely due to the participants in earlier studies on coffee being smokers as well as coffee drinkers.
Recent scientific research indicates that the health benefits of coffee may outweigh its risks, when it is taken in moderation. The primary reason for this change in thinking is that many coffee drinkers in the older studies also smoked cigarettes, making it difficult to separate the health effects of these two substances.
Caffeine is the most active substance in coffee. The health effects of caffeine become statistically significant when you consume at least four cups of coffee each day. These effects include sleeplessness, anxiety and irritability, especially in individuals who are susceptible to caffeine. Any attempt to derive health benefits from coffee should therefore limit coffee consumption to three cups per day. It is also important to skip cream and sugar when drinking coffee.
One of the benefits of coffee which is well known is heightened alertness; an effect which can be helpful when performing many common tasks. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology revealed that students who had consumed caffeine were better able to spot grammatical errors in text, particularly subject-verb agreement and tense errors, although their ability to spot misspellings was not affected.
A Harvard University study also found a correlation between coffee consumption and a lower risk of depression in women. The study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, found that women who drank two to three cups of coffee per day had a 15% lower risk of developing depression, while those who drank four or more cups per day experienced a 20% lower risk of depression. The lower risk of depression in women who drink coffee regularly is thought to be due to caffeine's effects on regulating the release of neurotransmitters which affect mood.
One of the ingredients in coffee may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in mice, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The specific substance has not been identified, but the study did show that coffee increases the level of Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor, which is believed to fight Alzheimer's disease. The amount of coffee used in this study was the human equivalent of four to five cups.
Coffee may also be linked with a lower risk of prostate cancer, according to the results of a Harvard School of Public Health study published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Men who drank at least six cups of coffee per day were found to have a risk of developing the most deadly form of prostate cancer which was 60% lower than that of the control group. These participants were also found to have a 20% lower risk of all forms of prostate cancer.
Caffeine may also reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma, which is the most common form of cancer. This finding was recently presented to the American Association for Cancer research. A study at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also showed that women consuming at least three cups of coffee per day experienced a 20 percent reduction in the risk of skin cancer. The men in this study experienced a 9 percent reduction.
The link which was once thought to exist between coffee, heart disease, cancer and other diseases may have been largely due to the participants in earlier studies on coffee being smokers as well as coffee drinkers.
Recent scientific research indicates that the health benefits of coffee may outweigh its risks, when it is taken in moderation. The primary reason for this change in thinking is that many coffee drinkers in the older studies also smoked cigarettes, making it difficult to separate the health effects of these two substances.
Caffeine is the most active substance in coffee. The health effects of caffeine become statistically significant when you consume at least four cups of coffee each day. These effects include sleeplessness, anxiety and irritability, especially in individuals who are susceptible to caffeine. Any attempt to derive health benefits from coffee should therefore limit coffee consumption to three cups per day. It is also important to skip cream and sugar when drinking coffee.
One of the benefits of coffee which is well known is heightened alertness; an effect which can be helpful when performing many common tasks. A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology revealed that students who had consumed caffeine were better able to spot grammatical errors in text, particularly subject-verb agreement and tense errors, although their ability to spot misspellings was not affected.
A Harvard University study also found a correlation between coffee consumption and a lower risk of depression in women. The study, published in The Archives of Internal Medicine, found that women who drank two to three cups of coffee per day had a 15% lower risk of developing depression, while those who drank four or more cups per day experienced a 20% lower risk of depression. The lower risk of depression in women who drink coffee regularly is thought to be due to caffeine's effects on regulating the release of neurotransmitters which affect mood.
One of the ingredients in coffee may also reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease in mice, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease. The specific substance has not been identified, but the study did show that coffee increases the level of Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor, which is believed to fight Alzheimer's disease. The amount of coffee used in this study was the human equivalent of four to five cups.
Coffee may also be linked with a lower risk of prostate cancer, according to the results of a Harvard School of Public Health study published in The Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Men who drank at least six cups of coffee per day were found to have a risk of developing the most deadly form of prostate cancer which was 60% lower than that of the control group. These participants were also found to have a 20% lower risk of all forms of prostate cancer.
Caffeine may also reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma, which is the most common form of cancer. This finding was recently presented to the American Association for Cancer research. A study at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School also showed that women consuming at least three cups of coffee per day experienced a 20 percent reduction in the risk of skin cancer. The men in this study experienced a 9 percent reduction.
About the Author:
We used the following websites for background information: My Cap (www.my-cap.com/) who sells k cup caps and reusable capsules for Nespresso brewers. I'm not associated with My Cap and they did not review this document.
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