Coffee contains many complex chemicals that have both beneficial and detrimental effects on your body.
Historical research holds that coffee increases your risk of everything from heart disease to cancer.
Recent studies suggest that the benefits of coffee are likely greater than the health risks, if any, it may pose.
While coffee contains a number of different substances, including antioxidants and psychoactive chemicals, caffeine is by far the best known chemical compound in coffee and is the one which is responsible for the best known effects of coffee, both positive and negative. For instance, some people are especially sensitive to caffeine and may experience irritability, anxiety and have trouble sleeping after drinking more than four cups of the beverage daily. From what is currently known, it is recommended to drink coffee black and in quantities not exceeding three cups daily.
Coffee increases your alertness, which can be beneficial for certain tasks. A scientific study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that caffeine improves the ability of students to detect grammatical errors in written text, especially errors in verb tense and subject verb agreement. The same study did not show an improvement in the students' ability to detect misspelled words.
Caffeine may also reduce the risk of depression in women. A study at Harvard University appearing in The Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that two to three cups of coffee per day reduce the risk of depression in women by 15 percent. A minimum of four cups of coffee per day reduce that risk by 20 percent. The reason for this improvement is that caffeine modulates the release of mood transmitters in the brain according to Dr. Albert Ascherio, a researcher in the Harvard study.
A study published in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that mice who were given an amount of coffee equivalent to 4 - 5 cups in humans had elevated levels of the hormone Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor, which is believed to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Coffee may also reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men. A study at the Harvard School of Public Health studied men who drink at least six cups of coffee per day. This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and found that the risk of these men developing the most dangerous type of prostate cancer decreased by 60 percent. It also found that this amount of coffee reduced the risk of all forms of prostate cancer in the test subjects by 20 percent.
Drinking coffee on a daily basis might also reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common forms of cancer. A joint study by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that drinking 3 or more cups of coffee per day resulted in a 20% lower risk of basal cell carcinoma in women and a 9% lower risk in men. The study's findings were presented to the American Association for Cancer research.
Historical research holds that coffee increases your risk of everything from heart disease to cancer.
Recent studies suggest that the benefits of coffee are likely greater than the health risks, if any, it may pose.
While coffee contains a number of different substances, including antioxidants and psychoactive chemicals, caffeine is by far the best known chemical compound in coffee and is the one which is responsible for the best known effects of coffee, both positive and negative. For instance, some people are especially sensitive to caffeine and may experience irritability, anxiety and have trouble sleeping after drinking more than four cups of the beverage daily. From what is currently known, it is recommended to drink coffee black and in quantities not exceeding three cups daily.
Coffee increases your alertness, which can be beneficial for certain tasks. A scientific study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that caffeine improves the ability of students to detect grammatical errors in written text, especially errors in verb tense and subject verb agreement. The same study did not show an improvement in the students' ability to detect misspelled words.
Caffeine may also reduce the risk of depression in women. A study at Harvard University appearing in The Archives of Internal Medicine concluded that two to three cups of coffee per day reduce the risk of depression in women by 15 percent. A minimum of four cups of coffee per day reduce that risk by 20 percent. The reason for this improvement is that caffeine modulates the release of mood transmitters in the brain according to Dr. Albert Ascherio, a researcher in the Harvard study.
A study published in The Journal of Alzheimer's Disease found that mice who were given an amount of coffee equivalent to 4 - 5 cups in humans had elevated levels of the hormone Granulocyte Colony Stimulating Factor, which is believed to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.
Coffee may also reduce the risk of prostate cancer in men. A study at the Harvard School of Public Health studied men who drink at least six cups of coffee per day. This study was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and found that the risk of these men developing the most dangerous type of prostate cancer decreased by 60 percent. It also found that this amount of coffee reduced the risk of all forms of prostate cancer in the test subjects by 20 percent.
Drinking coffee on a daily basis might also reduce the risk of basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common forms of cancer. A joint study by Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School found that drinking 3 or more cups of coffee per day resulted in a 20% lower risk of basal cell carcinoma in women and a 9% lower risk in men. The study's findings were presented to the American Association for Cancer research.
About the Author:
Big thanks to the guys at my-cap.com for help researching this topic. We also consulted with them for some Keurig information.