Coffee is a beverage which can be a healthy diet and is a major source of dietary antioxidants. Science also proves that moderate coffee consumption can be beneficial to health. The benefits of coffee drinking have been proven to far outweigh the perceived negative effects attributable to the caffeine content. Coffee has numerous health benefits as evidenced by many peer reviewed scientific studies. Moderate amounts of coffee consumption may play an important role in maintaining our health.
The write-up below summarizes the findings of Bartholomew I. C. Brai from the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Kemi Odukoya, Public health physician and lecturer, department of community health and primary care, college of Medicine, University of Lagos and Akinsanya Olusegun-Joseph, consultant cardiologist, LUTH – LAGOS.
Economic Facts
Coffee is the 2nd largest world-wide commodity after crude oil and it represents 4% of the world’s food and agricultural commerce. 70 tropical countries produce annually 100 million 60 kg bags and this creates more than 20 million jobs.
Nutritional Facts
One cup (240ml) of coffee provides: Chlorogenic acid – 70-350mg, magnesium – 7-24mg (1-5% of RDA), Potassium – 34-116mg (1-2% of AI), Niacin – 1-3mg (6-18% of RDA) and Vitamin E (~ 0.1% of RDA)
Scientific Impact
Coffee moderately reduces the incidence of dying from cardiovascular disease, according to a large prospective cohort study published in 2008. A 2009 prospective study in Japan following nearly 77,000 individuals aged 40 to 79 found that coffee consumption was associated with a reduced risk of dying from cardiovascular disease. A May 2012 study by the New England Journal of Medicine found that, during the course of their study, coffee drinkers “who drank at least two or three cups a day were about 10 percent or 15 percent less likely to die for any reason during the 13 years of the study.”
A meta-analysis of the available prospective studies from 1966 to 2011 shows that moderate coffee consumption is associated with lower risk of stroke.
In the pooled analysis, habitual moderate coffee consumption was associated with decreased risk of stroke.
Stroke risk in the high-consumption category showed a trend in the same direction, toward a reduction.
Drinking coffee has been found to actually raise blood pressure briefly, right after consumption, linked to the effect of caffeine.
Scientific studies, however, show that coffee’s compounds lower blood pressure over the long term, decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease.
This is believed to be a result of the beneficial action of chlorogenic acids on the arteries.
Focus on research
In the past, the health benefits of coffee have not been well understood. Many healthcare practitioners have dissuaded their patients from coffee intake but more recent research is showing evidence that coffee has many benefits to man’s health. However, the beneficial health effects of coffee could be due to possible protection against oxidation even though normal modern life exposes humans to many sources of oxidation. An excess of oxidative stress may induce a deregulation of the metabolism and eventually lead to diseases development. Antioxidants help fight free radicals and may protect against them damaging the cells and tissues.
Coffee and the brain
Lowers risk of alzheimer’s disease, lowers risk for stroke, lowers risk for parkinson’s disease, lowers risk of dementia, increased mental alertness, improved short term memory.
Coffee and the heart
Initially, coffee was thought to cause arrythmias and raised blood pressure but recent evidence suggests that coffee, whether caffeinated or not does not appear to cause arrythmias in normal subjects neither does it increase the risk of CHD.
Reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes
A systematic review of the 20 epidemiologic publications reviewed showed that 17 found evidence that coffee consumption, can reduce risk of Type 2 diabetes, can improve indicators of normal glucose metabolism and 3-4 cups per day whether decaffeinated or regular was also associated with at least 25% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to no coffee consumption. An earlier study (2002) investigated the association between coffee consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes in 17,111 adults, aged 30-60.
Over a follow up period, individuals who drank at least 7 cups per day where found to be 50% less likely to develop diabetes compared with those who drank 2 cups or less.
Are there new findings?
Researchers in a new meta-analysis (2013) found that the incidence of type 2 diabetes decreased by 12% for every 2 additional cups of coffee consumed per day.
Coffee’s positive impact on diabetes appears to result from reduced levels of blood glucose, increased insulin sensitivity, and decreased storage of both fat and carbohydrate
Earlier studies didn’t always take into account that known high-risk behaviors, such as smoking and physical inactivity, tended to be more common among heavy coffee drinkers at that time. Recent articles, however, point to coffee as being cardioprotective
Protective mechanisms
Coffee compounds raise levels of detoxifying enzymes that protect against DNA damage. This may partly explain how coffee further lowers the incidence of related diseases such as cancer. DNA damage has also been found to predispose to premature aging.
Researchers discovered that the phenolics have the direct action of dampening inflammatory activity. This may explain why coffee has been found to lower the levels of hsCRP and some other inflammatory markers. A 2008 study of 459 Japanese women revealed a significant, independent, inverse correlation between coffee consumption and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) levels.
Coffee drawbacks
Excessive intake, like any other substance, however, can be deleterious. There have also been complaints of restlessness, agitation; awareness of heart beat in very high consumers who take less than 5 cups of coffee per day. However, these are almost negligible in low consumers who take less than 2 cups of coffee per day, and moderate consumers 2–5 cups of coffee per day.
Some people are very sensitive to caffeine’s stimulating effects, complaining of palpitation, restlessness, tremors. Such people are counseled to take with caution or discontinue further intake. Coffee ingestion is contraindicated in patients with arrhythmias.
Caution
Coffee drinking is not intended to replace other healthy life style behaviors like exercise, smoking cessation, reduced salt and fatty meals!
By: Kemi Ajumobi
