The average person in the United States and many other countries begins their day with a cup or two of coffee. In fact, the drink is very important to the productivity of many people. The question that is on the minds of many is whether or not the drink has health benefits in addition to keeping us all awake.
Some people have reported that coffee gives them an irregular heartbeat or a headache. This might mean that there is some variability with respect to the ability to tolerate the drink.
Coffee contains many different compounds. It is a truly complex substance. The amount of caffeine that is in coffee is variable. It ranges from 30 mg to 175 mg per cup of home-prepared coffee. Caffeine is the most common psychoactive drug that is used around the globe. It achieves its effects through the antagonism of the adenosine receptor. Adenosine is a brain chemical that causes feelings of drowsiness.
Also, caffeine elevates blood pressure, increases metabolic rate, and causes diuresis. As long as a person is not pregnant, moderate caffeine intake is not linked to any adverse effects. Coffee is the number one dietary source of antioxidants in many countries. Coffee beans contain phenolic antioxidant compounds. The major polyphenol in coffee is chlorogenic acid. Coffee has been featured in more than 8000 professional medical studies over the past 40 years. The research has been generally positive, but some of the data has been difficult to interpret, for various reasons.
Many studies indicate that coffee consumption can help prevent some chronic illnesses. The remainder of this article will go into the details of this topic. It should be emphasized that research has been generally positive, and so there doesn’t seem to be any reason to quit a coffee habit.
The following are the health advantages of coffee:
1. Improves Energy Levels
Coffee can help you to experience less tiredness and heighten your energy levels.
This is primarily because of the stimulant caffeine that the drink contains. Caffeine is the most commonly ingested psychoactive compound around the globe. When you consume coffee, the caffeine becomes absorbed into the bloodstream. It then travels from there into the brain. When it reaches the brain, it blocks a brain chemical called adenosine. This, in turn, causes the increase of certain brain chemicals that are related to mood and energy. There is a lot of research that indicates that coffee enhances many features of brain function. Not only is this the case with respect to mood and energy, but also it is true of cognitive function. You may find that the drink improves memory and reaction times.
2. Reduces Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is an enormous health issue around the globe right now. The disorder affects about 300 million people worldwide. The illness affects blood sugar levels through a resistance to insulin or a lack of the ability to issue insulin. It is not known how it happens, but coffee drinkers have a greatly diminished risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.
When we say that there is a significantly reduced risk, we mean as much as a 50% lowered risk of getting the illness. According to a review of research, each daily cup of coffee was connected with a 7% diminished risk of developing the disease.
3. Reduces Risk of Getting Parkinson’s Disease
Parkinson’s disease is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative illness. The first most common is Alzheimer’s. Parkinson’s disease is brought on by the loss of dopamine-secreting neurons in the brain.
Just as with Alzheimer’s disease, there is no cure for Parkinson’s disease. This is why the idea of prevention becomes so important. Research shows that coffee drinkers have a diminished risk of developing Parkinson’s. This reduction in risk can be as much as 60%. It seems to be that the caffeine itself is crucial to the effect. People who drink coffee without caffeine do not have this effect.
4. Protects Against Cirrhosis
The liver is one of the most important organs in the body. There are certain diseases that can occur in the liver. These include hepatitis and others.
These illnesses can bring on a condition called cirrhosis. This illness involves the development of a lot of scar tissue in the liver.
Coffee may prevent cirrhosis of the liver. People who drink four or more cups a day of coffee can have up to an 80% lower risk. Cirrhosis can be life-threatening, so this is an important way of possibly preventing a death from illness.
5. Helps with Depression
Depression is a clinical psychiatric disorder that can lead to a major reduction in the quality of a person’s life. It is so common in the United States that 4.1% of people here have the condition.
In a 2011 Harvard study, women who had four or more cups of coffee per day had a 20% less risk of getting depression. Another very large study found that people who consumed four or more cups of coffee per day were 53% less likely to end their life. Coffee is also known to elevate the mood of people who don’t meet the actual criteria for clinical depression.
6. Helps with Heart Disease
The consumption of a moderate amount of coffee can lower the risk of clogged arteries that can lead to a heart attack.
A study in Korea showed that people who have three to five cups per day of coffee had a reduced risk of having calcium deposits in their coronary arteries. This is an indicator of heart disease.
The subjects in the study who drank three to four cups per day had the lowest risk. What is the case is that coffee has been linked to increased LDL cholesterol, however.
7. Lowers Multiple Sclerosis
Drinking four to six cups of coffee per day is associated with a lower risk of MS. Caffeine has neuroprotective properties and suppresses the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, drinking a large quantity of coffee over five to 10 years has been linked with a reduced risk.
Since coffee is so complex in terms of the compounds that it contains, researchers are not completely sure that it is the caffeine in the coffee which produces the effect. More research needs to be carried out to pin down the causality involved in this effect.
8. Reduces Colorectal Cancer Risk
Cancer is one of the most prevalent causes of death around the globe. It occurs when there is an uncontrolled proliferation of cells in the body.
There are two types of cancer that coffee seems to protect you from. These are liver cancer and colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cause of death from cancer worldwide.
Research indicates that coffee drinkers have up to a 40% diminished risk of liver cancer. A very large study found that people who drank 4-5 cups of coffee per day had a 15% reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer.
9. Causes a Reduction in Strokes
Most of the studies that review the association between coffee drinking and stroke have indicated that there is a diminished stroke risk.
Meta-analyses have studied the associations between coffee consumption and stroke as well. Data from a 2011 meta-analysis indicated that moderate coffee consumption may be weakly inversely associated with risk of stroke. Consumption of two cups per day was associated with a 14% reduction and three cups per day with a 17% reduction in risk of stroke.
The research on this is complicated and needs a more significant review by the reader.
10. Lowers Alzheimer’s Disease Risk
Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder and the main cause of dementia around the globe.
The disease typically affects people who are over 65 years of age. There is no cure for this illness. There are a number of things that you can do as preventive measures. Diet and exercise are a big help, but it seems that drinking coffee may help as well. There are studies that indicate that coffee drinkers have up to a 65% reduced risk of coming down with Alzheimer’s disease.
