Top Health Benefits of Coffee
By Jeff
K Andrews | Submitted On
January 05, 2012
Most people start out
their mornings with a cup of coffee to help them wake up and prepare for the
day and it now seems as if people have another reason to make sure they start
their days with this tasty hot beverage; the nutrients within it that impart
the health benefits of coffee.
The Legend of Coffee
Legend has it that
goats discovered the wonders of coffee in the Arabian peninsula. Kaldi, the
goats' shepherd, found them joyously dancing around after having ingested coffee
beans, so he decided to try them himself. Then Kaldi discovered what most
people in America know about coffee; it helped to wake him up. From then on,
the monks in the area began to take advantage of its effects for keeping them
awake during their extended prayer sessions. It worked so well that the monks
began to offer it around to all of the other monasteries.
That's an interesting
story about the goats discovering coffee, but the truth is a bit more mundane.
Coffee actually was believed to have been discovered in Ethiopia. Someone took
it to Yemen where the people began to grow coffee extensively in the 6th
century. Then the coffeehouse first made its way into the world in Cairo, Egypt
and Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Now they are everywhere, practically on every street
corner.
Two Main Coffee
Species
The two main coffee
species being grown currently are called Arabica coffee and Robusta coffee. The
more popular coffee type is the Arabica, and it gives a better flavor than the
Robusta. The Robusta has higher caffeine content, but its flavor isn't as
well-liked.
Health Benefits of
Coffee
As people research
coffee and the differences between those who drink it and those who don't, they
discover very interesting facts about the good things coffee can do for the body.
For example, those who drink coffee have fewer instances of the following
diseases:
·
Type II Diabetes
·
Parkinson's Disease
·
Dementia
·
Some cancers
·
Heart Disease
·
Strokes
Type II Diabetes
In order to help
prevent Type II Diabetes, people will need to drink at least six to seven cups
of coffee per day. This amount of coffee each day lowers a person's risk of
Type II Diabetes by 35 percent. Because patients diagnosed with Type II
Diabetes also have an increased risk of heart disease and stroke, coffee is
also given the credit for decreasing the amount of heart disease and strokes
that people experience.
A further effect of
coffee is that it reduces the instances of disturbances in heart rhythm. These
disturbances have been found to increase both men's and women's rate of heart
attacks and strokes. Because coffee lowers the number of people who have
disturbances of their heart rhythms, it also indirectly decreases the numbers
of heart attacks and strokes that all people endure.
Parkinson 's Disease
and Dementia
Coffee drinkers have a
decreased risk of Parkinson's disease. Researchers are confident of the link
between Parkinson's disease and the caffeine that coffee contains, although
they cannot explain what the effect caffeine has on preventing Parkinson's
disease. It also benefits dementia; drinking between three and five cups of
coffee per day was found in one study to reduce dementia by 65 percent.
Coffee and Liver
Cancer
Researchers can't state
definitively how, but coffee appears to decrease the instances of liver cancer.
With every test researchers have done on this issue, they have arrived at the
same results; liver cancer is less likely in people who are regular coffee
drinkers.
Nutrients in Coffee
Coffee is full of
antioxidants that are believed to be the reason that the number of people who
contract Type II Diabetes can be kept lower. These nutrients, oxygen-free
radicals, keep the cells from being damaged. Coffee also contains minerals that
are highly important in the body's process of regulating insulin. Magnesium and
chromium aid in the body's use of insulin in controlling the amount of sugar
that runs through the blood. People with Type II Diabetes lose the ability to
control their blood sugar on their own, so the help that magnesium and chromium
provide is very useful.
Omega-6 Fatty Acids
The body needs omega-6
fatty acids and it's not capable of producing them itself. Coffee is a great
source of omega-6 fatty acids containing 27.6 milligrams in each fluid ounce.
Omega-6 fatty acids, also called polyunsaturated fats, are essential for
maintaining brain function, promoting growth, encouraging the growth of healthy
skin, bone growth, keeping the body's metabolism in its healthiest state and
keeping the body's reproductive system in good shape.
Coffee Allergies
Coffee has a large
amount of caffeine, 0.3 milligrams per fluid ounce, and it may be the cause of
some people's allergies. Those who develop an allergic reaction to caffeine may
experience hives, skin rashes that can be extremely itchy. This condition can spread
all over the body and create a condition called anaphylaxis where the sufferer
can no longer breathe and loses consciousness. It's a condition that needs to
be treated with immediate medical attention.
Who Shouldn't Drink
Coffee?
It's a concern for doctors
that pregnant women who drink large amounts of coffee might have a higher risk
of miscarrying. They generally advise their patients to drink around 12 ounces
of coffee per day; this number means that less than 200 milligrams of coffee is
being ingested which is the amount that is considered to be the safest for
women who are expecting. The less than 200 milligram number appears to be safe
because research has shown that there isn't an increased incidence of
miscarrying or promoting a premature birth; it also doesn't seem to affect the
growth of the foetus in any way.
Coffee, rather the
caffeine in coffee, may present people who have urinary issues with a reason to
limit their consumption. The caffeine is known as a property that will increase
a person's need to urinate more often. The answer isn't going to be to drink
decaffeinated coffee because it has been found that decaffeinated coffee has
the same diuretic effects as regular coffee.
Another group of
people who might want to decrease the amount of coffee they drink, both regular
as well as decaffeinated, are people who experience heartburn. Acids that can
worsen heartburn's symptoms are present in both types of coffee, so it can make
a heartburn sufferer even more uncomfortable. If heartburn is worse in the
morning and the person didn't know what was causing it, it just might be the
coffee.
Summary
Like with anything,
coffee has its good side and its bad side but when taken in moderation, the
health benefits of coffee outweigh the bad.
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