Coffee? Sure thing! Coffee can be good for you!

 

 

It's hard to know what to believe when you read the news. One week a food is good for you, and the next week it's not. The good news about coffee is that we're learning that just like other plant foods, coffee beans are full of antioxidants—and more!

 

Here is some of the good news about coffee:

 

Researchers have discovered that drinking coffee is a positive addition to the lifestyle for those at-risk or who already have diabetes. Anywhere from two to six cups a day has proven beneficial. The reason? Antioxidants plus other chemical elements in the complex profile of coffee. Risk factors are reduced up to 30 percent, and scientists believe that the body's metabolism of sugar is balanced by the compounds found in coffee.

 

• Two recent studies revealed that subjects who drank four or more cups of coffee per day had upwards of 80 percent less chance of developing liver cirrhosis than non-coffee drinkers. In another study, death from the disease was reduced 23 percent.

• Several recent studies reported the therapeutic value of coffee and caffeine for protecting against the onset of dementia and/or Alzheimer's, which affects the mind. Scientists now believe that caffeine can stimulate the brain cells to stimulate choline, a necessary element in making "neurotransmitters" which are greatly reduced in dementia patients. Caffeine also helps Parkinson's patients who experience a lack of dopamine in the brain, which causes tremors and general mobility problems. The explanation for caffeine efficacy may be that it is a phytochemical (a plant-derivative chemical) and phytochemicals are well known for therapeutic, medical properties.

• Antioxidants, plentiful in fruits and vegetables, are absolutely vital for excellent health and appear in high levels in coffee. Antioxidants are chemical compounds that fight free radicals, which, if allowed to grow, will attack our body and cause disease, most commonly cancer.

• Caffeinated coffee appears to help reduce the symptoms of gallstones. Men have a 4 percent lower risk of developing them when they drink two or three cups of caffeinated coffee per day; however, men who drink four or more cups reduce the risk up to 45 percent over those men who do not drink coffee. These are the conclusions from a Harvard School of Public Health study that involved 46,000 male participants over a ten-year period. A separate study done by the Harvard Nurses' Health Study followed 80,000 women for 20 years and reported that coffee reduces the risk of gallstones among women by 25 percent when they drink four or more cups a day, compared to those women who did not drink any coffee.

Source: Medline.com