Recent studies have shown that coffee may reduce cancer risk, prevent neural degeneration in the brain, and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and strokes. Although coffee had previously been thought to raise the risk of cardiovascular disease, recent studies have shown that women who drink one to three cups of coffee daily have a 24% reduced risk of heart disease, and a 19% reduced risk of stroke. Maybe coffee isn’t so bad for us after all!
Excerpt from the article: “Coffee is a very complex mixture of various chemicals. Researchers are still trying to track down exactly what it is that makes coffee so mysteriously beneficial, but it’s antioxidant components may be part of its protective effects against cancer”.
Also: “Americans get more of their antioxidants from coffee than any other dietary source,” said Joe Vinson, lead author of a study on antioxidants conducted by the University of Scranton, in Pennsylvania. “Nothing else comes close.”
http://www.livescience.com/8335-coffee-mysterious-benefits-mount.html
About the Author: Rebecca Wong has a BA in English Literature from the University of Waterloo and has been working in the herbal business since 2000. She studied at the Ontario College of Traditional Chinese Medicine under respected authorities Paul Des Rosiers and Vu Le, and graduated from the East West School of Planetary Herbology under Michael Tierra. She received training as a yoga teacher at The Branches in Kitchener/Waterloo, and therapeutic yoga teacher training from the School for Somatic Soulwork under Deniz Aydoslu. She now teaches yoga for anxiety, depression and burnout at Rebecca's Restful Yoga Studio in Toronto.
If coffee is a health food why does it make me and many other people feel so bad? It makes me feel jittery and overstimulated, and increases insomnia, even if taken ten hours before I want to sleep. Irritates my stomach at times, but mostly gives me a general feeling of un-ease.
It is likely the caffeine in coffee which causes you to feel jittery and over-stimulated, and indeed, this stimulating effect is still of some concern, particularly for people who have adrenal weakness. While the stimulating effect of caffeine can give you more energy in the short term, in the long term it can push your adrenal glands beyond their capabilities, and weaken them further. So, although coffee doesn’t seem to be as bad for your health as was previously thought, it is not a good idea to begin drinking coffee, or to increase the amount you drink daily based on this new information. It should only serve as reassuring news for people who still drink coffee each day, or for those who may be having difficulty eliminating it from their diet. While still not exactly a health food, the regular drinking of coffee does provide some health benefits.
Thanks, A very useful information
Subhuti Dharmananda has a good article on coffee from the standpoint of Chinese medicine:
http://www.itmonline.org/arts/coffee.htm
Excellent article! Thank you for posting it.
I feel that it also depends on the kind of coffee you drink. Fast food type coffee vs organic coffee, how hot the temperature of the water is, and drinking it in the morning, not after noon.
This article is bias for the coffee multi million dollars coffee companies..just like big pharma. …Coffee leaches minerals like calcium out of your body , Coffee make your body acidic environment in the body for fungus, bacteria and cancer to grow .
coffee stress your thyroid homes , coffee slows down your liver from burning fat ! why you even put this sick article about coffee on your website ?
The increasing number of positive studies about coffee cannot be ignored. Like any natural herb used, coffee can cause negative effects in some people and positive effects in others, depending on the dosage taken, and underlying health issues. There is no reason for the complete removal of coffee from our diets, since its bitter properties have been shown to stimulate digestion and liver functioning, and also benefit the heart. In the article Wyandotte provided, coffee is compared to bupleurum, a commonly used liver herb, in its effects on the body. Its tendency to produce acidity should not exempt its health benefits from consideration, since other healthy foods, including meats and whole grains, can also create an acidic environment in your body when eaten in excess. As in all foods, the key is moderation. When only 1-3 cups of coffee are taken per day, I see no reason why it can’t be part of a healthy diet.
Very true ,study human study . We are so primitive in our study
Very informative. Thanks for sharing this
Coffee is also great for preventing constipation, and I do think it has protective/cleansing properties. It used to bother me because of how fast I metabolized it. I eventually trained myself to tolerate it and it helps with weight loss and also, I believe, when in the right dosage heart issues.
Just like any other remedy, it has to be tweaked for the individual. Lack of sound sleep can make one tired. So taking it after the range of 12pm-2pm can affect sleeping (if you sleep around 9-11pm normally) so keeping it a morning thing works. Depending on how strong the coffee is, taking it in excess can cause the heart palpitations, jitteriness and I have found too much black tea, coffee and caffein in general to cause cysts in breasts and possibly ovaries. This I was told by my Mom and I discovered it from observing myself and other women.
It is really about testing its effects on you and individual optimum doses. I have found more than 3 cups, sometimes more than 2 to be a bit too much, but in the right amount coffee can have great effects, a natural appetite suppressant great for weight loss efforts especially when drank without sugar which helps limit the hyper feeling (a little milk is ok).
I do think the type of coffee is important too. I don’t know all of the types and beans I just know what I like (arabica) but the companies we buy from and their quality and processing does count. I have had a green coffee that people from Saudi Arabia drink with whole cardamom pods that is very mild, very lovely, and doesn’t give me any of the caffein affects. It’s almost like tea. They drink it in tiny glasses the size of half of a shot glass (no sugar, no milk).