For years, your morning companion has been condemned by health
experts. But newer research suggests coffee may actually be good for you-if you
follow the rules
“I gave up coffee” is a refrain of the health conscious. But
should it be? The idea that coffee is a dangerous, addictive stimulant springs
mostly from 1970's- and 1980's studies that tied the drink to higher rates of
cancer and heart disease, explains Dr. Rob van Dam, a disease and nutrition
expert at Harvard School of Public Health who has examined coffee and its
health effects. According to van Dam, that old research didn't do a great job
of adjusting for a person’s cigarette habit or other unhealthy behaviors.
But newer, better-designed research paints a more clear picture of your favorite eye-opener. Van Dam and his colleagues analyzed health
and diet data on roughly 130,000 adults spanning 24 years. They found no
evidence that drinking coffee increases your risk of death from cancer,
cardiovascular disease, or other causes. That was true even for people who
knocked back 48-ounces of coffee a day. In fact, there was some indication that
regular coffee drinkers might enjoy a slight drop in mortality risk, van Dam
says.
The idea that your java (coffee) could actually deserve a health halo
would have shocked doctors a few decades ago. But van Dam’s study is only one
in a wave of new research sure to please coffee fans. Coffee has been linked to
lower rates of type-2 diabetes, a reduced risk for some cancers, and protection
against Parkinson’s disease. Other research links coffee to improved memory,
mood and energy levels.
The drink could even help shield you from a deadly form of
skin cancer. How? The caffeine in coffee may interact with a type of “repair
gene” that plays a role in the development of basal cell carcinoma, says Dr.
Jiali Han, a disease researcher at Indiana University, Indianapolis, who
co-authored the coffee-and-skin cancer study. Han says it’s also possible that
coffee’s antioxidant compounds could account for the drink’s anti-cancer
benefits—an explanation you’ll come across a lot when reading about coffee’s
benefits.
But before you start swigging your java by the gallon, van
Dam warns that there remain reasons to be careful. There’s evidence that
pregnant women might want to limit morning caffeine fix because of an
admittedly small correlation between coffee intake and miscarriage. (There is
research showing that moderate coffee drinking is perfectly safe, making it a
judgment call for expecting moms.) There are also reports hinting that people
with cholesterol issues may have more problems if they drink some kinds of
coffee. Compounds called cafestol, present in coffee beans, appear to raise LDL
cholesterol—though paper filters eliminate most of those compound, making it
more of a concern with French press and espresso-style brews. And of course, if
you’re drinking so much that you’re unable to sleep or your heart races, that’s
a bad thing too, van Dam adds.
But if you’re in good shape and enjoy coffee? “For most
people,” van Dam says, “black coffee is a healthy, non-caloric beverage
choice.” And it should go without saying that the benefits conferred to coffee
do not extend to mocha-flavored “coffee drinks” or other sugar-loaded
concoctions.
“Coffee is a highly complex beverage with hundreds of
compounds,” van Dam says, which means it affects people differently. Van Dam
doesn’t recommend people who don’t already drink the stuff start now, but if
you love it, can tolerate it, and it isn’t messing with your sleep? Bottoms up.
Source: Time.com
Important:You are allowed to re-post this article on your website or blog as long as you acknowledge the original author and give the backlink to this site.
- 5:48:00 PM
- 0 Comments
