Sun, Jul 20 12:45 AM
Coffee does more than help you get started and keep going. It also keeps you healthy.
Over the past 20 years, over 19,000 studies have studied the impact of coffee on health and almost all have found that a few cups a day reduce the risk of several diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, colon cancer, liver cirrhosis and Parkinson's. While doctors are not likely to start prescribing caffeine as a health drink, they say there is no scientific reason to ask people to stop having caffeine.
As a stimulant, caffeine has several pluses. It speeds up information processing in the brain by 10 per cent, and a couple of cups can improve alertness and concentration during night shift hours, report researchers in Psychopharmacology.
In large amounts - four to six cups -- coffee prevents diabetes. A review in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reported that drinking coffee regularly lowered the risk of Type 2 diabetes.
According to another JAMA study, at least 6 studies indicate that people who drink coffee regularly are at an 80 per cent lower risk of Parkinson's disease. Besides being a mood elevator, it is a potent source of anti-aging antioxidants, with a cup of coffee containing more antioxidants than a glass of grape, blueberries, raspberries or orange juice.
Drinking three or more cups of coffee a day reduced asthma attacks, reports a paper in the journal Chest. Other studies show that, compared to not drinking coffee, drinking at least two cups a day can lead to a 25 per cent lower risk of colon cancer, an 80 per cent drop liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly 50 per cent in gallstones risk.
On the other hand, coffee is not everyone's cup of cheer. Caffeine is a temporary stimulant that affects the central nervous and cardiovascular systems, increase heart rate and blood pressure.
In large amounts, it can cause nervousness, jitters, and rapid heartbeat. Its effect on the nervous system varies with people, with some managing with a cup of tea while others needing several cups of strong coffee for breakfast.
So, how much caffeine is too much for the average joe? An average person's daily intake should not exceed 300 mg - that's about three cups of coffee a day. Pregnant women and nursing women should limit the caffeine-intake to 100 mg, as caffeine can enter breastmilk and agitate the baby.
Children, too, should limit caffeine intake to 100 mg a day as it can make them hyperactive. But before you start counting your cups of coffee, don't forget to include other sources of caffeine besides coffee.
Carbonated soft drinks apart, caffeine is added to medicines, including painkilelrs, asthma medication, diet aids and cold medication. It's best to have caffeine in between meals as it can interfere with mineral absorption.
"Don't have tea or coffee with meals as caffeine prevents calcium and iron absorption. It also increases calcium loss through the kidneys and the intestines, so people who have a lot of coffee should have calcium supplements," says Parmeet Kaur, chief of dietetics, All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Now that you have several reasons not to feel guilty about a few cups of cappuccino, make sure you don't overdose on it.
If you are young, have a hectic social life where you drink and party, and have applied for a job, chances are you will lose out to someone who is a teetotaler.
| Copyright © Yahoo Web Services India Pvt Ltd. All rights reserved. Questions or Comments Privacy Policy -Terms of Service - Copyright Notice |
