Ahhhhh... Coffee

[stabilo]

Millions of people around the world love to start their day with a steaming cup of coffee. The aroma and the taste of coffee have become a staple of our modern life and culture. As coffee is probably the most frequently ingested beverage worldwide, it is interesting to discuss its potential health benefits or adverse effects.

Benefits: 
- Coffee has a significant antioxidant activity and may have an inverse association with the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus
- Coffee and caffeine consumption decreases the risk of Parkinson’s disease
- Protective against liver cirrhosis; especially alcoholic cirrhosis and associated with reduced risk of Hepatocellular carcinoma

Adverse effects: 
- Heavy coffee consumption (>5 cups per day) can be associated with the risk of myocardial infarction
- Coffee consumption is associated with risk of hypertension
- Heavy coffee consumption in pregnant women is associated with high incidence of impending abortion, premature labor, and fetuses small for gestational age
- Ingestion of caffeine may increase the risk of an early spontaneous abortion among non-smoking women carrying fetuses with normal karyotypes




Reference:

- Ranheim T, Halvorsen B. Coffee consumption and human health- beneficial or detrimental? – Mechanisms for effects of coffee consumption on different risk factors for cardiovascular and type 2 diabetes mellitus, Mol Nutr Food Res. 2005 Mar;49(3):274-84
- Salazar-Martinez E, Willett WC, Ascherio A, Coffee consumption and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus, Ann Intern Med. 2004 Jan 6;140(1):1-8
- Ascherio A, Zhang SM, Hernan Ma, Prospective study of caffeine consumption and risk of Parkinson’s disease in men and women, Ann Neurol. 2001 Jul; 50 (1): 56-63
- Klatsky AL, Morton C, Udaltsova N, Coffee, cirrhosis and transaminase enzymes, Arch Intern Med. 2006 Jun 12; 166(11): 1190-5
- Inoue M, Yoshimi I, Sobue T, Influence of coffee drinking on subsequent risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective study in Japan, J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Feb 16;97 (4):293-300
- Palmer JR, Rosenberg L, Rao RS, Coffee consumption and myocardial infarction in women, Am J Epidemiol.1995 Apr 15;141(:724-31
- Furuhashi N, Sato S, Suzuki M, Effects of caffeine ingestion during pregnancy. Gynecol Obstet Invest. 1985; 19(4):187-91

do you know other health benefits or adverse effects of coffee?
discuss it here! 

[Admin]

Nice post.
Still remember those day when I relied on coffee to keep me awake to prepare for exam. Coffee gives me sense of well-being and make me feel excited.

[zpt]

Yes...Jus like everythin has pros and cons....
You can enjoy benefit of coffee as long as you control the amount of intake...
how about just drink only 2~3 cups per day....??!!
or how about choosing the decaf coffee???
does this have its similar effect as usual coffee???

[stabilo]

A study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005:

The Coffee and Lipoprotein Metabolism (CALM) study included 187 people, randomized to three groups: one that drank three to six cups of caffeinated coffee a day; another that drank three to six cups of decaffeinated coffee a day; and a third, the control group, that drank no coffee

conclusion:
Decaffeinated — not caffeinated — coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol by increasing a specific type of blood fat linked to the metabolic syndrome.

According to the American Heart Association, whether high caffeine intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease is still under study, however moderate coffee drinking - 1-2 cups per day - doesn't seem to be harmful

 

reference: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3035336

[drvolcanoe]

Yes...Jus like everythin has pros and cons....
You can enjoy benefit of coffee as long as you control the amount of intake...
how about just drink only 2~3 cups per day....??!!
or how about choosing the decaf coffee???
does this have its similar effect as usual coffee???

2-3 cups??? i used to take 1/2 cup of coffee a day for many many years in the evenings.

i dare not take more than 1/day...heavily relied on the 'thick'-coffee from vending machine drg O&G on-call days as medic stduent & when have to stay up to finish up assignments. guess wat...after the initial few hours of 'high', i end up feeling more lethargic than ever and my mind is half-asleep, but my body refuses to sleep for about 3/4 a day after that. chehhh....

well maybe its just that i have very lopw tolerance to coffee.


but i'd love to hear about the decaf type too...no experience with those kind

[zpt]

A study presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2005:

The Coffee and Lipoprotein Metabolism (CALM) study included 187 people, randomized to three groups: one that drank three to six cups of caffeinated coffee a day; another that drank three to six cups of decaffeinated coffee a day; and a third, the control group, that drank no coffee

conclusion:
Decaffeinated — not caffeinated — coffee may cause an increase in harmful LDL cholesterol by increasing a specific type of blood fat linked to the metabolic syndrome.

According to the American Heart Association, whether high caffeine intake increases the risk of coronary heart disease is still under study, however moderate coffee drinking - 1-2 cups per day - doesn't seem to be harmful

 

reference: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3035336

however, the study also accidentally found out that those patient who are obese (BMI>25) may get benefit from decaf coffee by increasing high-density lipoprotein 2 (HDL2) for about 50% .... haha ... only those who ar not obese and drinkin decaf coffee show dropping of HDL2 by about 30% ...

[amanda]

I also heard that coffee could also help in reducing weight and reduces body fats in our body.  So for those who undergone some surgical procedures you might also consider coffee as a supplement to maintain the figure.

[linjo]

yeah./.. 100 % true,Coffee might give you a temporary relief but the adverse effects of Coffee which contain Caffeine are very dangerous.hypertension  chances are very high.So better stop coffee or just have 1 cup of coffee a day!

[izzie]

I try to drink only one cup of coffee a day.