A Morning Cup of Joe
Moderate coffee intake can actually be beneficial to your health!
by Elaine Ferry
Many people start their day with a cup of coffee, some even feel they cannot get started without it, this is due to the fact Caffeine is a psychoactive and neurostimulating substance. For a while, coffee was demonized by the family Doc because of the caffeine. A literature review going back to 2007 shows mixed results.
Now research shows that moderate coffee intake can actually be beneficial to your health! The keyword in that sentence is “moderate”. A large cohort study in Holland, Finland, and Italy In elderly men demonstrated that coffee consumption was associated with slower progression of dementia, measured over the course of 10 years.
Coffee is loaded with anti-inflammatories and antioxidants and this is what brings the benefits. Research from the Harvard School of Health going back to 2013 shows that drinking two or three cups of coffee a day can lower the risk of hormonally related cancers, aggressive prostate or estrogen-negative breast cancer as well as endometrial cancer.
The big news is stopping the formation of beta-amyloid plaques in the brain, great news for those at risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Plus, it appears drinking coffee during the day can protect you from impairment due to age-related sleep deprivation! An article in the Journal of Nutritional Health in 2014 shows the use of coffee and caffeine can prevent “age-related cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s.”
And then we come to the scourge of Diabetes. According to Endocrine News, The US leads developed Nations in Diabetes prevalence with 11.3% of the population having the diagnosis in 2019. This does not include those with Metabolic Syndrome (Insulin Resistance) often called Pre-Diabetes.
Coffee can be helpful for short-term blood glucose control and long-term use actually increases the levels of a hormone - adiponectin- that assists with blood sugar control and insulin production.
Keep in mind, in all these cases we are talking about black coffee here, not super sweetened lattes laden with cream. Obesity is one of the big risk factors for Diabetes and addiction to sweetened and whipped creamed coffee will not do anything for your health.
I am in the minority in the US, as I am not a fan of coffee, but I now drink a cup of black organic java daily, for its benefits.
