Drinking A Cup of Coffee Everyday

Worried about how much coffee intake you have everyday?!? Here's the good news - new scientific research shows the potential health benefits a cup of coffee can do to you - whether it's caffeinated or decaf.

Drinking coffees have been know to be antioxidants, providing protection against certain types of diabetes and cancer. It is even said to hold the secret in curing male baldness, among others.

Recently, the evidence linking coffee drinking and the protection against diabetic diseases seems to be getting more substantial, as scientists investigate the beverage's effect. Based from the study of some Harvard University scientists, over a period of 10 years - more than 88,000 women, aged 26 to 46 years old, found that drinking coffees daily were connected to a decreased risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

But don't start gulping coffee as a liquid health food. As the old cliche goes, anything taken in excessive would dangerous to your health. After all, moderation is still the best strategy. For many people, drinking too much coffee may cause indigestion. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just the caffeine, some coffee beans can yield higher level of acids, which can be an irritant to our stomach.

Another research in California shows that among more than 125,000 people studied for up to 22 years, coffee drinkers were less likely to be diagnosed with alcoholic cirrhosis. Additionally, coffee seems to offer protection against Parkinson's disease, although more for men than for women.

Interestingly, "coffee was once labelled as a culprit in raising artery-clogging LDL cholesterol levels. But researchers found that only unfiltered or boiled coffee, or that made using a French press, contained cafestol and kahweol, the compounds with the cholesterol-raising effects. In heart health research, sipping excess coffee has been linked to high blood pressure, but we'll see more research there," as published in Homemakers.com

A Friendlier Cup of Coffee

Freshly brewed research reports about coffee are changing the image of the popular drink from harmful to healthy in many ways.

Thanks to some of the latest knowledge about coffee reported in April at the Experimental Biology 2007 symposium in Washington, D.C., negative myths about coffee are evaporating.
"The good news is it seems an extremely popular beverage can be safely consumed by most people in moderation," said Joan Salge Blake, a spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association and nutrition professor at Boston University.

"It doesn't look like there is any downside to coffee in any disease process," said Dr. Craig McClain, professor of medicine, pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Louisville, who attended the spring meeting.

The story about coffee grew dark and negative a decade or more ago when a study linked pancreatic cancer to caffeine, a link that has since been debunked, McClain explained.

"That got everybody down on coffee, but more recently in diverse areas research is suggesting that coffee -- at least in moderate consumption -- can be beneficial," he said.

Studies of large populations of real coffee drinkers are pointing in a positive direction.

New research suggests coffee can reduce the risk of such major diseases as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and type 2 diabetes.

"Animal studies suggest it might even be good for weight control through thermogenesis (the process by which the body generates heat, or energy, by increasing the metabolic rate above normal)," McClain said. "Drink six cups of coffee a day and you may have an energy expenditure of 100 calories."

In studies of mortality, it appears that moderate coffee drinkers have a slightly reduced risk of death, McClain also reported.

Good for the liver

One promising thread of coffee research indicates coffee may lower bad liver enzymes called cytokines. "Coffee looks like it may be good in those with liver disease and certainly not harmful," he said. The mechanism for how this works isn't understood yet, he added.

Everybody thinks about caffeine, an alkaloid that acts as a mild stimulant, when they think of coffee, partly because old coffee research emphasized it. Much of the current research is saying the possible benefits of moderate coffee consumption have little or nothing to do with its caffeine content.

Coffee, after all, contains antioxidants and phytochemicals. It is made up of hundreds of components such as magnesium, potassium, vitamin B3, amino acids and lignans, a weak form of estrogen found in fruits, cereals, flaxseed and vegetables.

Experts caution that moderate coffee drinking is what people should keep in mind.

Moderate consumption means two to three eight-ounce cups a day to Marsha Hilgeford, a Louisville dietitian and diabetes counselor at Baptist Hospital. McClain would say two to four cups daily constitutes moderation.

Hilgeford recommends drinking filtered coffee because some research has shown that unfiltered coffee, such as that made in a French plunger-style coffee maker, can boost cholesterol levels. What gets through in unfiltered coffee are diterpenes, found in the oil droplets floating in the coffee as well as in the sediment.

Athletic endurance

Some endurance athletes have long ranked coffee important to their performance. Last April, the Journal of Sports Science published a study that found caffeine had a positive impact on the performance of male distance runners. In November, the same journal printed another study that examined whether cyclists could improve their sprinting with caffeine and found they did.

But a third study published last year in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology found that two cups of coffee reduced blood flow to the heart during exercise by 22 percent and by 39 percent if the exercise was done in a high altitude chamber used to simulate the way coronary artery disease would limit the amount of oxygen that gets to the heart.

Those with coronary heart disease or heart health risk should talk to their doctors about how much coffee to drink before exercise.

Experts certainly don't advocate taking up coffee drinking if you don't drink it now or loading up on more coffee based on the good-benefits research that is emerging.

Hilgeford, while not down on coffee as a beverage, doesn't think it should be viewed as some magic elixir either. She strongly believes everyone is an individual when it comes to coffee and that they should test their reaction to it.

If they experience anxiety, jitters or insomnia, they should reconsider coffee consumption. And if they have other concerns about their use of coffee, by all means, they should talk to their doctor, experts said.

Courtesy Linda Stahl, The Courier-Journal and GJ Coffee Companion

Close the Calcium Gap with Your Next Cup O'Joe!

The growing popularity of coffeehouses may be helping to close the calcium gap in this country. Two out of three Americans fail to get enough calcium, which remains one of the nutrients most likely to be lacking in our diets - particularly among women, according to according to a study sponsored by the Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP), Washington, D.C., funded by the nation's milk processors.

Although some women say they no longer drink milk, they're getting more milk than they realize when they make a stop at their favorite corner coffeehouse. Many of today's most popular coffee drinks supply more than a full serving of milk, which is 1 cup or 8 ounces. For example, a Grande Caffe Latte (16 fl oz) provides 415 milligrams of calcium or 40% of the daily value for calcium. Order a Venti (20 fl oz) and the calcium soars to 50% - supplying half of the 1,000 milligrams of calcium recommended each day.

Women are more likely than men to skimp on milk, according to a new analysis of U.S. beverage patterns called What America Drinks, according to a study conducted by ENVIRON International Corporation.

This nationwide look at our intake of liquids found that women consume, on average, only about 6 ounces of milk a day - far short of the 24 ounces (or 3 servings) of milk that's recommended each day. For women who rarely drink a glass of milk with their meals, nutrition experts say milk-based coffee drinks like lattes can be an easy way to correct calcium shortfalls.

"Skim or nonfat lattes are not only a guilt-free treat that women can feel good about, but they're an eye-opening nutrition ally," says registered dietitian Carolyn O'Neil, author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! "Most women are completely surprised to learn what a powerful nutrient punch is in each cup, but it makes sense when you consider that you're getting more milk than espresso when you order a latte."

A 16-ounce skim latte is not only an excellent source of calcium, but provides an array of other nutrients, including 25% daily value of protein and 35% daily value of vitamin D -- which partners with calcium to keep bones strong. Each 16-ounce serving is also a good source of other nutrients that are often lacking in women's diets, such as potassium, magnesium and vitamin A.

While most coffeehouses offer a variety of milk, O'Neil suggests ordering your latte with skim or nonfat milk to shave off calories and to eliminate fat. Many coffeehouses also offer sugar-free syrups that can add flavor without any additional calories. You also can ask the barista to "hold the whip" to control calories.

In the summer, O'Neil recommends cooling off with an iced latte, which she says is an ideal nutrient-packed substitute for soft drinks. An iced Grande Caffe Latte made with skim milk contains only 90 calories and provides 290 milligrams of calcium or 30% of the daily value.

The same size soda contains 200 calories and comes up empty on calcium and other nutrients.

Trading in your soft drink for an iced skim latte may not just boost your calcium - it may actually help you ward off extra pounds. According to the What America Drinks report, women who drank more soft drinks and little milk tended to weigh more than their peers who opted for more milk and fewer soft drinks. Among women, soft drinks provided more calories to the diet than any other single beverage.

The What American Drinks report also found that about 40% of Americans drank coffee, making it the third most commonly consumed beverage in this country. Yet only about 6% of adults said they drank coffee beverages made with milk. O'Neil suggested these coffee drinkers make a simple switch.

"If you'd just swap out your regular cup of joe for a skim latte, then you'll get much closer to getting the calcium you need each day," she advised. "If you have a large skim latte in the morning and perhaps a decaf one in the afternoon, then you may even reach your daily calcium goal."


Courtesy MILK PEP, Washington, D.C., GloriaJeans.com

Coffee May Prevent Skin Cancers

United States scientists have said the combination of daily exercise and a cup of coffee may prevent skin cancers.

Past researches have shown that moderate consumption of coffee may offer some health benefits.

Coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable, stop a headache, boost mood and even prevent cavities, the studies had found.

A new study by scientists at Rutgers University in New Jersey shows that a low to moderate intake of caffeine combined with exercise can be good for health and prevent skin damage caused by the sun's ultraviolet rays.

They arrived at this conclusion after conducting a study on mice, reported health portal News Medical.

For the study, the researchers used groups of hairless mice, whose skin is extremely vulnerable to the sun.

One group was given caffeinated water to drink, the equivalent of up to two cups of coffee for humans, another group voluntarily exercised on a running wheel, a third group both drank caffeine and ran, while a fourth group neither ran nor drank caffeine and acted as the control group.

All the mice were then exposed to lamps that generated ultraviolet radiation that damages the deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) in their skin cells.

They were then examined for evidence of programmed cell death, also known as apoptosis, which is the process by which cells with badly damaged DNA destroy themselves as a natural defence against illness and infection.

The scientists found that compared to the ultraviolet radiation exposed control group, the caffeine drinkers showed an increase of about 95 percent in ultraviolet radiation induced apoptosis, the exercisers showed a 120 percent increase, while the mice that were both drinking and exercising showed a nearly 400 percent increase.

One of the study's authors Allan Conney said if apoptosis takes place in a sun-damaged cell, its progress towards cancer will be aborted.

The team who reported their findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences said drugs that induce apoptosis are currently being researched as a method of preventing different types of cancer but the combination of caffeine and exercise appears to have a similar protective.


Courtesy www.eians.com; Coffee Companion

Coffee Could Hold the Secret to Curing Male Baldness

For all those men who would do anything to stop their hairlines from receding, it might just be time to give hair weaving, toupees and wigs the boot, for a new research has found that coffee could hold the key for making their woe disappear.

The study, carried out by a team of researchers led by Dr Tobias Fischer at the University of Jena in Germany, found that caffeine stimulates the growth tiny follicles, the tiny sacs in the scalp from which hair grows, in men who are starting to lose their hair.

The researchers noted that caffeine helps slow baldness in men by blocking the effects of a chemical known to damage hair follicles.

However, before you reach for that cup of coffee, you have to know that researchers estimate that up to 60 cups a day would be the amount needed for significant amounts to reach follicles in the scalp.

Researchers are nonetheless, optimistic that caffeine can be a "promising candidate for hair growth stimulation".

"Caffeine is a well-known substance, yet little is known about its effect on human hair follicle growth. But this study shows it's a promising candidate for hair growth stimulation," the Daily Mail quoted him, as saying.

Now, German cosmetics firm Alpecin has developed a caffeine-rich solution that can be rubbed on the scalp.

Most baldness is caused when hair follicles become exposed to too much dihydrotestosterone, or DHT, a chemical produced by the male hormone testosterone.

Based on this, experts believe that men with high levels of testosterone are more likely to lose their hair.

As a part of the study, Dr Fischer took scalp biopsies from 14 men in the early stages of hair loss.

He then extracted hair follicles and placed them in test tubes with solutions containing different levels of caffeine. The samples were then monitored for a period of eight days.

The researchers found that caffeine had boosted the length of the hairs by between 33 per cent and 40 per cent.

"Hair follicles that were treated with caffeine showed a highly significant growth rate at 24 hours, and still showed further significant growth at eight days," said Dr Fischer.

Courtesy International Journal of Dermatology

Coffee for Pain Killers?

Back pains? Ouch!

With all the medicines now on the market for aches and pains, a new study says all you need may be a cup of coffee.

Since a lot of people are taking up new exercise programs, more and more are experiencing soreness in muscles they didn't even know they had. And when that happens, people usually resort to stretching, icing and popping some ibuprofen.

But recently,some doctors found out that people who have a cup of coffee every couple of hours before a workout were able to cut their muscle soreness by half.

In fact, for almost everyone, the coffee worked better than the stretching or ibuprofen.

Doctors aren't really sure how the coffee helps but think the caffeine causes pain fibers to be less sensitive, and might help neutralize the chemicals that causes inflammation and muscle soreness.

So, if you're not a big coffee drinker, this might be a help for you. If you already are a person who likes their coffee, you might check it out to see if it helps.

Can't Cure Common Cold, But Coffee Benefits Perk

Moderate consumption of coffee, an all-world beverage, if ever there was one, is being shown to have generally positive and protective effects on the emergence of disease conditions according to this month's issue of Food Technology magazine.

In its regular Food, Medicine & Health column, Food Technology reports that recent studies of coffee in combination with reviews of research gathered over the past 30 years reveal that consumption improves glucose regulation and lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, among other favorable effects.

"Many negative health myths about coffee drinking may now be transformed into validated health benefits," says the column's co-author, Roger A. Clemens, a functional food expert with the Institute of Food Technologists and nutritional biochemist.

"Scientific evidence now suggests that moderate coffee consumption 3 to 5 cups a day may be associated with reduced risks of certain disease conditions," he says, such as Alzheimer's disease, kidney stones, depression, and others."

Another area of coffee's positive affect on the body is its possible cancer-protective properties, possibly due to its naturally occurring and brewing-produced antioxidants.

Some research strongly links coffee's properties to protect blood vessels from dilating as one possible mechanism that brain cells use to defend against Parkinson's disease. One cup of coffee a day may as much as halve the risk of developing this disease, the article states.


by Courtesy Food Technology magazine