Coffee is one of the most popular drinks on Earth and the good news is that there are studies suggesting that it good for you too. We have it at home, in cafe’s and from vending machines – all the time – so the knowledge that it can be good for you is great news.
Coffee contains active ingredients that affect your body – the most famous one being caffeine.
A lot of people drink coffee because of the flavour – it tastes great and there are so many different ways to drink it. Many also drink it for the uplifting effect of the caffeine. Caffeine helps make you energised and stops you feeling tired. If taken in moderation, this can be good thing.
Plenty of people also drink coffee for its ability to increase short term memory and reactions. Studies have also shown it to have improved the cognitive ability of women over 80 if they have drunk it regularly throughout their life.
Coffee has also been shown to reduce the risks of getting certain diseases.
Drinking caffeinated coffee has been credited with lowering the incidence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in both men and women. There is also a greatly reduced risk of Dementia and Alzheimer’s disease for people that drink 3-5 cups a day compared to those that have 0-2 cups and a significantly reduced likelihood for men of developing Parkinson’s disease as they get older.
Two of the biggest killers in the Western World are cancer and heart disease and coffee can help protect against certain types of both of these. Researchers have discovered that coffee drinkers are 50% less likely to develop liver cancer than those that didn’t drink it. Some studies have also found correlations with lower rates of breast, colon and rectal cancers. This is because it contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium which is created when the beans are roasted from the trigonelline in the raw beans. It is found in all types of the drink. For heart disease, the drink is thought to help prevent heart attacks, stroke and arrhythmia. This may be because it battles the inflammatory damage associated with early stage illness.
Caffeine improves the effectiveness of pain killers which is why it is often found in headache and flu medicines. The energising properties will also make you feel better.
The tannins in coffee may also reduce the tooth decay potential of foods by reducing plaque formation.
People adore drinking coffee and as well as tasting good and stimulating the body, it can also be doing some real good. Obviously there are drawbacks to having an excess but a sensible thing for all food and drink is ‘everything in moderation’.
Heading to your nearest coffee vending machines or putting the kettle on at home? Next time you are enjoying a cup of coffee, you can relax in the knowledge that it could improve your health in the long term as well as tasting fantastic right now.