Is Coffee Good or Bad for your Health?

Coffee

For a long time, coffee has been included in our diet. Wherever you go, you will surely be able to find different types of coffee each showing off an aroma and taste like no other. Although coffee is one popular drink, coffee also happens to have issues of its own when it comes to its nutritional value. It can become confusing if coffee is healthy or not.

BASIC   FACTS   ON   COFFEE:

Coffee is one brewed drink that is dark in color and has an acidic flavor. It is prepared from the roasted seed of the coffee plant which grows in several countries around the world and is commonly known as coffee beans. The unroasted, green coffee is one of the most traded commodities in the world for such a long time and is also one of the most-consumed beverages in the world. A lot of people drink coffee because it has stimulating effects due to the caffeine that it has.

Coffee and It’s Effects to Health:

Coffee farm

There have been numerous studies conducted to find out about how coffee can affect our health. Coffee has plenty of compounds in it that can affect the chemistry of our body. Starting with the coffee bean itself, it has chemicals that are found out to be mild psychotropics to us. Taking in small amounts is not a problem but once they are taken in large doses or even in normal amounts, it can be toxic for use. Coffee is largely known to have a stimulant called caffeine but recent studies have shown that it also gives stimulating effects that is attributed by other compounds other than caffeine. It also has a chemical agent in it that can stimulate cortisone and adrenaline production which are two kinds of hormones that can also stimulate us.

But because coffee also gives a relaxing effect to some, people can still enjoy coffee without having to get the stimulating effect as there is also decaffeinated coffee which is commonly called as decaf. Decaf coffee has its caffeine removed with the use of the Swiss water process and this is done by soaking the raw coffee beans in order to have its caffeine removed but it may also be done by using a chemical solvent called as trichloroethylene (also known as methylene chloride). Another solvent called ethyl acetate has decaf coffee with a result called natural decaf because this solvent is found naturally in fruit. The use of supercritical carbon dioxide has also been used in the process of removing caffeine from coffee.

Because caffeine is such a major ingredient in coffee, having it removed will cause a slight change in the flavor of what the regular kind of coffee has.

Health Benefits out of Drinking Coffee:

roasted coffee 

Coffee is no doubt a healthy drink because according to studies, drinking a cup of 8-ounce coffee has 70 to 130 mg of caffeine in it. This means that it bring you added energy when you need something to give you extra strength that you might need when off to work or have with you a busy day. Apart from this, coffee can also help in preventing the prevalence of diseases.

• Prevention of Stroke

A study done for over 24 years by Harvard Medical School over 83, 076 women showed that they had no history of stroke which means to say that people who are regular coffee drinkers has that big chance of preventing stroke. The study concluded that women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee in a day had 20% chance of lower risk of getting stroke than women who drank lesser cups of coffee.

• Prevention of Parkinson’s Disease

The Linus Pauling Institute of Oregon State University conducted studies on how coffee can be beneficial to one’s health. The study had 47,000 men as correspondents and with this it showed that those who drank more than a cup of coffee in a day had 40% chance lesser of developing Parkinson’s compared to men who drank less coffee.

• Staying Healthy

A study done by Professor van Dam of Harvard University documented that consuming coffee can help prevent the occurrence of many diseases such as type-2 diabetes, liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. Another study also showed that people who were regular coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart diseases compared to people who do not drink coffee that often.

Negative Effects of Coffee to our Health:

Coffee recipe 

A lot of people consider having coffee a part of their daily routine. People drink coffee for energy boosting on afternoons, some for getting a good start on mornings and some even in between their meals. Drinking coffee has become so prevalent in fact it was documented that almost more than half of the American population indulge themselves to drinking coffee in a day. Although coffee is one popular beverage, it also has negative health effects.

• Dehydration

Caffeine has diuretic effects. Diuretic is a termed used to substances that increase the production of urine. With this, regular coffee drinkers are at risk of suffering from dehydration. This most especially true to people who regularly drink coffee and leads a very busy life or those who live in places with hot climates. If you regularly drink coffee, make sure to also compensate for the fluids you lose by drinking lots of water most especially after doing vigorous exercise.

• Blood Pressure

Though regular coffee drinking may bring a lot of good things to our health, it also has a downside. Drinking coffee can sharply raise our blood pressure levels because of the caffeine it has and this goes the same for people whose blood pressure levels are within normal range. Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee that is fully caffeinated can raise systolic pressure up to 13 points more and diastolic to 14 points. The effects of caffeine will vary from person to person depending on how sensitive they are to it. If you happen to already have high blood pressure levels, it would be best that your consumption be limited to only 24 ounces in a day and as much as possible avoid doing rigorous activities and exercise as they may also contribute to having high blood pressure levels.

• Cholesterol

When coffee is unfiltered it has the tendency to increase serum and LDL cholesterol levels for some people. Unfiltered coffee actually contains two kinds of substances that can raise the levels of cholesterol and these substances are cafestol and kahweol. Filter papers may be able to remove both of them when brewed but those who do not filter their coffee are those who get a rise of 23mg/dL in their total cholesterol level and rise of 14 mg/dL in their LDL cholesterol.

Symptoms of Caffeine Withdrawal:

For people who regularly drink coffee, it has been noted that caffeine withdrawal happens around 12 to 24 hours after a regular coffee drinker has consumed coffee. Caffeine withdrawal is often characterized by anxiety, headaches, fatigue, depression and drowsiness. This will eventually subside within 48 hours or when a person drinks coffee again.

how to make coffee

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