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What are the Health Benefits of Coffee and Caffeine

Friday, August 21st, 2009    Subscribe To Our Feed

Research studies concerning the health effects of coffee have increased apace in the last twenty-five years or so. One outcome of this phenomenon was that health workers consistently warned the public that consuming the drink habitually may be unsafe. Reports that are more recent suggest, nevertheless, that coffee may in reality be more advantageous than harmful to health. That should be good news for the innumerable folks around the globe that consume it.

Caffeine, the main element of coffee, is thought to be a mild pick-me-up which counts elevated blood pressure, raised heart rate, and occasional irregular heartbeats amongst its instantaneous effects. Recently, researchers have been trending toward the opinion that these physiological responses are by far minor and short-lived.

In contrast, the emerging information about the health benefits of coffee consumption are numerous and diverse. There is strong evidence that coffee cuts the chances of developing colon cancer, but only at higher levels of consumption of four cups daily or more. That much consumption might well outweigh the benefits. Nevertheless, additional benefits accrue even at modest levels of coffee drinking.

As with wine, coffee has antioxidants that remove free radicals in the blood and subsequently reduce the chance of heart disease and several forms of cancer. Several research studies showed that the concentration of antioxidants in coffee is greater than that in tomatoes, apples or cranberries. Many scientists point out, nonetheless, that fruits and vegetables have an advantage, as far as being sources of important vitamins, minerals and fiber is concerned.

Research studies from China offer strong evidence that coffee can diminish the effects of Parkinson’s disease. Two scientific reports, one from the United States and the other from Scandinavia, indicate that both decaffeinated and normal coffee decrease the chances of developing the symptoms of type 2 diabetes mellitus.

There is some evidence that coffee may reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and gallstones. Other digestive system benefits have been seen, too. Caffeine increases the secretion of stomach acid, that helps digestion.

Caffeine has been demonstrated to ease constriction of airways in asthmatic people, if ingested in moderation. Another significant constituent of coffee, theophylline, adds to this therapeutic effect by behaving as a bronchodilator.

However, those benefits, not surprisingly, come with hazards. Even though mammalian sperm swim quicker, longer and further in fluids that contain traces of coffee, many studies connect heavy coffee consumption with reduced fertility. Increased coffee ingestion has been linked with higher blood levels of homocysteine, recently established to be a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Other research studies show an increase in damaging LDL-cholesterol. To what degree these elements really contribute to heart attacks are a matter of debate.

Most coffees made by the European way of boiling ground beans contain cafestol, a  substance alleged to have the effect of raising the levels of cholesterol in humans. Most Americans, nonetheless, prefer their coffee percolated or filtered, procedures that take out cafestol, except in the case of decaffeinated coffee .

Women coffee drinkers have been discovered to have lower calcium levels and bone mineral densities than non-consumers. Furthermore, those that take four or more cups each day increase their chance of contracting urinary incontinence.

In the main, though, most agree that the benefits, at least at moderate consumption levels, outbalance the dangers. Incidentally, for those heavy drinkers looking for an alternative, colas contain one-third the quantity of caffeine per ounce. Somehow though, drinking a Coke rather than a Latte does not seem worth the risk.

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