It gets you up in the morning. It tastes great – well to
some of us at least. But how good is
coffee for you exactly? Does it really make us more effective?
Coffee is the most widely used and accepted psychoactive
drug on the planet! Yes it is a drug, it certainly has psychoactive properties –
like cocaine, coffee is a stimulant, but is far more acceptable! How did coffee
become so acceptable? Is it really safe? And could it even have health
benefits?
Let’s start with the health benefits. Research is indicating
that coffee is beneficial in reducing Alzheimers, Diabetes, Parkinsons and risk
of gallstones. Women who drink three
cups a day may live longer whilst cirrhosis of the liver,
oral, oesophageal, and pharyngeal cancer might be reduced. Coffee can even benefit
your heart – but make sure you are drinking instant coffee as the freeze drying
process removes the lipids in coffee which can actually be detrimental to your
cardio health. Coffee also acts as a
laxative and a diuretic, but because of the diuretic effect we should be
drinking one glass of water for every cup of coffee we consume to avoid
dehydration. Coffee is also a powerful
antioxidant. If you rub coffee on to
those problem cellulite areas, it can even reduce cellulite, but drinking it
may not be so good for the problem in the first place.
Green
coffee beans are the new craze, what’s that all about? While most of the beneficial
chemicals that we absorb in roasted coffee cannot be absorbed by our bodies
when the beans are still green, green coffee beans have their own
benefits. Green coffee beans score as high
as 2500 on the ORAC scale Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity – a measurement of
the potential for a substance to reduce oxidative stress. This is pretty impressive when one considers
blueberries only scores 10 and oranges about 3. Green coffee doesn’t taste very
good, but is believed to assist weight loss whilst lowering blood pressure.
Does
coffee really increase our performance?
One or two cups do enhance cognitive function and short term memory,
increasing alertness. Should we drink
more than that? How much caffeine can
the body really absorb and are there alternatives?
So
far the benefits of drinking coffee are sounding pretty fantastic, but there is
a darkside. So before you increase your
daily quota, please do read on.
Homocysteine
is a naturally occurring amino acid found in the blood and tissues. If one suffers from common folic acid
deficiency – or more seriously the genetic mutation causing elevated levels of
homocysteine, the health risks include heart attack, stroke, cancer, diabetes,
parkinsons.. the list goes on. And
coffee is one of the main culprits for increasing homocysteine levels in the
blood. Do not exceed one cup a day unless you know your homocysteine is in the
clear!
Consumption
of coffee has been linked to ulcers and insomnia. Its effectiveness as a stimulant might also
be overrated, after your second cup, your body tends to discard the excess
caffeine and it’s more likely to cause problems sleeping than improve your
afternoon performance.
Excessive
consumption of coffee and energy drinks containing caffeine has been linked to
adrenal fatigue and possibly even chronic fatigue syndrome. For a healthier alternative, try some green
tea which contains far less caffeine, but includes the calming amino acid L-Theanine which simultaneously
calms the nervous system and enhances concentration abilities.
Coffee may be great for that initial boost, but we recommend you limit
your intake to one to two cups a day and switch to green tea thereafter for
sustained energy with a calming effect. It seems coffee is here to stay, and it’s
not all bad, so in moderation, you have our full permission to enjoy that
morning cuppa!
