23/12/2020
Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee
There are many conflicting and inconclusive studies on the health benefits of drinking coffee. Initial studies are encouraging and show that drinking coffee indeed has some health benefits. Here are the result of some recent research findings:
Type 2 Diabetes - Of all the studies conducted on the benefits of coffee, the most consistent is the lowered risk of acquiring type 2 diabetes or “adult-onset” diabetes among coffee drinkers. Studies show that the more coffee is consumed the lower the risk. Men who drank 6 cups or more a day cut their diabetes risk in half while women who drank the same amount of coffee cut their risk to 30%. It seems men benefit more than women.
Antioxidant - coffee is a good source of antioxidants. Green coffee beans contain about 1,000 antioxidants and are increased during brewing. The roasting process also creates its own set of compounds that are beneficial to health and are unique only to coffee. Coffee contains more antioxidants than cocoa, red wine, and 4 times more than green tea. Initial findings show that even 1 to 2 cups of coffee a day has beneficial effects and it seems both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee increases the body's antioxidant levels.
Parkinson’s Disease - independent studies have shown that drinking coffee daily reduces the risk of Parkinson’s Disease by as much as 80%. It also appears that the more the consumption, the lower the risk. Aside from reducing the risk of Parkinson’s disease, coffee has a positive functional effect on daily activities like concentration, alertness, body endurance, and increased male fertility. This is attributed to caffeine's effect on brain receptors which enhances energy uptake.
There are also recent studies that show that drinking coffee does not raise the risk of heart disease - the old belief now seems to be untrue. Research continues on the benefits of coffee, other benefits include: reduction of asthma attacks, cuts the risk of liver cirrhosis, reduces the risk of colon cancer, reduces headaches, prevents tooth cavities, and even offsets the damage of heavy alcohol intake and smoking.
