Any COFFEE for you?

 

Coffee is a brewed beverage with a bitter flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries. Once ripe, coffee berries are picked, processed and dried. The seeds are then roasted to varying degrees, depending on the desired flavor. It can have a stimulating effect on humans due to its caffeine content, making it one of the most-consumed beverages in the world.

Researchers are divided in their views on coffee benefits and harmful effects. Other than methodology and size of studies, some of the differences are likely attributable to the different style of making coffee. Therefore, not all coffee are the same.

Coffee is BAD -

There are more than 1,000 chemicals reported in roasted coffee more than half of which have been tested to have cancer-causing effects in animal experiments when given in high doses but due to the fact that animal cancer tests build in enormous safety factors, these chemicals should not be considered true risks. One of these carcinogenic chemicals, acrylamide, is higher in instant coffee than brewed coffee. This substance also causes nerve damage in people exposed to very high levels at work.

On the other hand, study showed that roast coffee, high in lipophilic antioxidants and chlorogenic acid lactones, protected primary neuronal cell cultures against hydrogen peroxide-induced cell death.

An earlier study conducted in Scandinavia did find links between coffee and a higher risk of heart disease. The reason seems to be found in the way coffee is being prepared. Most western drinkers are fond of leaving the coffee dregs in their pot, stewing at the bottom. As a result a higher dose of diterpenes is present in the unfiltered coffee that can cause a rise in cholesterol levels, estimated around 10%. Another instance where coffee is prepared in a French press leaves more oils in the drink compared with coffee prepared with paper filter.

To make matter worse, the investigation by the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) in Berlin found two thirds of espresso machines tested released high levels of lead after undergoing regular cleaning at up to 100 times the limits recommended by the EU. The study found strong cleaning materials used to clear calcium deposits were coming into contact with machine parts which released large amounts of lead into the system, and thus into people's drinks.

Coffee is GOOD
 

The traditional way of preparing coffee in some Asian societies is to pour boiling water over ground coffee placed in a cloth strainer siting on a kettle. After sinking for few minutes, the leftovers are then thrown away. In this way, the harmful substances are rid off and the goodness of coffee - antioxidants (polyphenols or flavonoids) and hundreds of other compounds are preserved.

Similiarly, coffee prepared using paper filters removes oily components (diterpenes) that are present in unfiltered coffee.

Decaffeinated coffee?

Here, seeds are decaffeinated when they are still green. Many methods can remove caffeine from coffee, but all involve either soaking the green beans in hot water or steaming them, then using a solvent to dissolve caffeine-containing oils.

On the average, one cup of brewed or one shot of espresso contains about 100mg of caffeine whilst decaffeinated coffee has only a few mg in each cup. The equivalent of a lethal dose of caffeine is drinking 100 cups of coffee in a day.

What the medical researchers said....

Research suggests that drinking caffeinated coffee can cause a temporary increase in the stiffening of arterial walls and thus not suitable for some people. Advice for this group who gets heart palpitations from drinking too much coffee is to try the decaffeinated type.

Researchers involved in an ongoing 22-year study by the Harvard School of Public Health state that "the overall balance of risks and benefits of coffee consumption are on the side of benefits. So who can benefit by having more cuppa?

For cardiac patients....

+ A Harvard study conducted on 45,000 healthy men in the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 1990, found that coffee drinking had no effect on the risk of heart attack or stroke.

+ A more recent study of more than 81,000 men and women in Japan published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health showed that drinking 1-2 cups of coffee a day was associated with up to a 23% risk reduction of death from heart disease.

+ Another large 2008 Spanish study in the Annals of Internal Medicine that tracked 129,000 men and women over 2 decades found that women who drank 4-5 cups per day were 34% less likely to die of heart disease, whilst men who had more than 5 cups a day were 44% less likely to die.

As studies are inconclusive as yet, one should attempt better ways to reduce heart disease and strokes, such as curb smoking, dietary reduction of cholesterol and exercise.

For diabetic patients....

+ The latest study conducted in Singapore involving 3000 patients shows tht coffee can lower the risk of diabetes. The study found "no detrimental factor" applied to all ethnic races. (the tolerable limit in insulin resistance can vary with different ethnic groups)

+ Many studies over the past decade have found strong links between drinking several cups of coffee a day and significantly lower risks of diabetes. The coffee can be drunk freshly brewed, instant or decaffeinated as long as the dregs are removed.

+ A study conducted among 17,000 Dutchs confirmed that those who drank 7 cups or more a day were half as likely to get diabetes as those who drank only 2 cups or less.

+ Another study conducted in US of 90,000 women also found those who drank 4 cups of coffee daily was half likely to get diabetes as compared to non-drinkers.

Cancer patients....

+ Previous studies have suggested that drinking a cup of caffeinated coffee per day can suppress a protein enzyme called ATR that is responsible for cancer-causing, by triggering the death of damaged cells harmed by UV rays.

+ Recent studies showed moderate drinking of coffee or applying on the skin is useful in warding off non-melanoma skin cancer, the most commonly diagnosed of all types of skin cancer. So, caffeine seems to be the next best sunscreen and directly absorbs damaging UV light.

Dementia/Stroke patients....

+ According to a 2009 study by Swedish and Finnish researchers, drinking 3 - 5 cups a day can decrease the risk of dementia by 65% in late life. This newly-found brain tonic is said to reduce dementia-causing amyloid in animal brains.

+ A 2009 Harvard study of 83,000 women published in the journal Circulation showed those who drank 2-4 cups of coffee a day had a 19-20% lower risk of stroke than women who drank less than a cup a month.

+ The data was supported by a 2011 Swedish study of 34,670 women published in Stroke journal that found women who drank more than a cup of coffee each day had a 22-25% lower risk of stroke than women who drank less coffee.

+ This benefit is not gender-specific and a 2008 Finnish study of more than 26,000 male smokers found that the men who drank eight or more cups of coffee a day had a 23% lower risk of stroke than the men who drank little or no coffee.

Liver patients ....

+ For those alcohol-induced damage, drinking more than 4 cups per day can reduce their risk of developing alcoholic cirrhosis by 80%. Polyphenols contained in coffee are associated with decreasing the risk of liver cancer development.

+ In a healthy liver, caffeine is mostly broken down by the enzymes in the organ and a small amount of unchanged caffeine is excreted by urine. However, abnormal liver biochemistry, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma have been reported for some lacking the enzymes and consume coffee excessively.

Prostate cancer patients...

+ A recent study from Harvard Medical School found that men who drank the most coffee slashed their risk of developing prostate cancer by more than half compared to those non-coffee drinkers.

Gout sufferers ...

+ Men who drank 4-5 cups per day lowered their risk of developing gout by 40% and those who drank 6 or more reduced their risk by 60% when compared to non-coffee drinkers.

Breast cancer patients ...

+ Swedish studies found that coffee can alter a woman's metabolism and produce a safer balance of estrogens. Those who drank 2-3 cups daily reduced their breast cancer risk by as much as two-thirds.

Constipated....

+ A cup of strong coffee may push along a reluctant bowel movement.

Safety aspects -

+ As ongoing studies are still being carried out, play caution and do not get drown in coffee as yet. There may be negative impact on the body by over-consuming eg. aggravate pre-existing heartburn, migraine, abnormal heart rhythms and insomnia.
+ Given the coffee low pH of 5.35, its caffeine content may destroy intestinal flora leading to overgrown of harmful flora, thus producing malnutrition and toxic production, resulting in an inflammed gut. Thus is important to add probiotics and prebiotics to reinstate the intestinal flora that are depleting from coffee consumption.

+ Pregnant women are advised to go easy on coffee, limiting to one cup per day, as caffeine is bad for the foetus.

+ Coffee consumption can lead to iron deficiency anemia in mothers and infants because it interferes with the absorption of supplemental iron.

+ Elderly individuals with a depleted enzymatic system are unable to metabolise caffeine effectively do not tolerate coffee well. They are recommended to take decaffeinated coffee, and this only if their stomach is healthy, because both decaffeinated coffee and coffee with caffeine cause heartburn. Moderate amounts of coffee should not be a problem for most of them.

+ Having said that, coffee is best consumed without or little cream or sugar to avoid negating any benefit. Adding milk is preferred as calcium is depleted with coffee consumption.

+ Remember to drink 2 glasses of water after each cuppa to prevent the body from being dehydrated. 


Conclusion 


The method of brewing coffee has been found to be important to its health effects. Hence, coffee lovers should stick to 2 cups of filtered coffee (no instant coffee) without or with little cream and sugar.


Household tip: The coffee powder residue from coffee bags or filtered coffee is a good organic fertiliser especially for fruits and vegetables as they do not emit a bad odour and are environment-friendly.