Wednesday 30 December 2009

Coffee: Healthier than we thought, but not good for everyone

Saw this interesting article on the Wall Street Journal about the purported health benefits of coffee. There have been a lot of claims recently that coffee can help reduce the risk of everything from heart disease to cancer, which we obviously think is excellent news.

Many of these new studies seem to contradict older research which generally held that coffee was bad for you and actually increased risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Turns out that many coffee drinkers were also smokers and when the health risks from smoking were factored out of the equation, suddenly the coffee drinkers actually enjoyed a number of health benefits!

However this article reminds people that for every benefit there is a tradeoff. It's still not good for pregnant women or people with hypertension for example. Perhaps coffee should also come with the label "Please Enjoy Responsibly"? Read more here:

Here are some more interesting stats from the article:
  • Diabetes: Many studies find that coffee—decaf or regular—lowers the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes, but caffeine raises blood sugar in people who already have it.
  • Cancer: Earlier studies implicating coffee in causing cancer have been disproven; may instead lower the risk of colon, mouth, throat and other cancers.
  • Heart disease: Long-term coffee drinking does not appear to raise the risk and may provide some protection.
  • Hypertension: Caffeine raises blood pressure, so sufferers should be wary.
  • Cholesterol: Some coffee—especially decaf—raises LDL, the bad kind of cholesterol.
  • Alzheimer's: Moderate coffee drinking appears to be protective.
  • Osteoporosis: Caffeine lowers bone density, but adding milk can balance out the risk.
  • Pregnancy: Caffeine intake may increase the risk of miscarriage and low birth-weight babies.
  • Sleep: Effects are highly variable, but avoiding coffee after 3 p.m. can avert insomnia.
  • Mood: Moderate caffeine boosts energy and cuts depression, but excess amounts can cause anxiety.

Source: WSJ research

1 comment:

  1. I would highly recommend Mr, Benjamin services to any person in need financial help and they will keep you on top of high directories for any further needs. Once again I commend yourself and your staff for extraordinary service and customer service, as this is a great asset to your company and a pleasant experience to customers such as myself. Wishing you all the best for the future.Mr, Benjamin is best way to get an easy loan,here is there email.. / 247officedept@gmail.com     Or talk to Mr Benjamin On WhatsApp Via_+1-989-394-3740 Thank You for helping me with loan once again in my sincerely heart I'm forever grateful.

    ReplyDelete