Ilja Generalov/Shutterstock
Many know that coffee can raise blood pressure. However, recent studies show that coffee can also lead to a reduced risk of various ailments. So, read on to discover the pros and cons of that morning cup of joe...
Enjoying Coffee And Its Benefits
stockphoto for you/Shutterstock
Love coffee? Well, thank the Universities of Southampton and Edinburgh! The countries published a new study about drinking coffee each day. The study revealed that a daily cup of coffee leads to a reduced risk of several ailments. That's right! Coffee can even prevent one from developing and dying from chronic liver disease. The study looked at lovers and haters in the United Kingdom. 78% (384,818) of them consumed ground or instant caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee, while 22% (109,767) did not drink any type of coffee. Of those who did not drink joe, 3,600 of them had chronic liver disease. Further research proved that coffee lovers had a 21% reduced risk of chronic liver disease, a 20% reduced risk of chronic or fatty liver disease, and a 49% reduced risk of death.
Sadly, there's one catch. The study recommends three to four cups of coffee a day. You read that right. Meanwhile, those that drank the ground beans had more health benefits than others. Grinding the beans keeps much more of the kahweol and cafestol nutrients, which help prevent liver disease. But that's not all! "There is consistent evidence from epidemiologic studies that higher consumption of caffeine is associated with lower risk (24% per 300mgs of caffeine) of developing Parkinson's Disease," Harvard wrote in a report. Coffee has also been shown to reduce depression, type-2 diabetes, some cancers, Alzheimer's, and gallstones.
As coffee beans contain over 1,000 different chemicals, it's challenging to point out which ones benefit human health. And it's not all good news...
Apart From Reduced Risk Of Ailments…
Yulia Grigoryeva/Shutterstock
Unfortunately, coffee does comes with some problems. In 1991, coffee ended up on the World Health Organization's list of possible carcinogens, as it can cause cancer. However, the WHO did take it off the list five years ago. Still, some coffee makers continue to put a cancer warning on their packaging. Also, as you can imagine, multiple cups of joe throughout the day can heavily affect your sleeping patterns.
Dr. Walter C. Willett, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said that he to cut down on coffee because of bad sleeping habits. "Lots of people with sleep problems don't recognize the connection to coffee," he said. "You don't have to get to zero consumption to minimize the impact on sleep." Those drinking coffee every day develop tolerance to caffeine. Some avid lovers even stop feeling the rush when they drink it. You should also watch how you prepare the coffee. "All the things people put into coffee can result in a junk food with as many as 500 to 600 calories," Willett added.
When in doubt, choose the decaffeinated type. It still has terrific benefits without sleep disruption.
Sources: Economic Times, Good News Network.
