August 15, 2006

(Good) Health Effects of Espresso and Coffee

Interesting article today about coffee and its POSITIVE effects on health. Maybe that cup of espresso or Latte isn't all that bad? So, we've all seen the bad news, and you might have heard about the good news, well here's a quick rundown:

The Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that habitual coffee consumption is associated with lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.

Coffee contains antioxidants that can control cell damage often linked with developments of some diseases.

It contains chlorogenic acid which has been shown to reduce glucose formations - maybe related to the diabetes finding?

Quantity matters - an analysis of several studies has shown that people who drank 4-6 cups of coffee had a 28% reduced risk of diabetes than those who drank 2 cups or fewer.

Norwegian researchers found that women who drank 1-3 cups per day reduced their cardiovascular risk by 24 percent compared to those who didn't drink coffee at all.

They also found that women who drank 1-5 cups per day reduced their risk from all causes during the study by 15%-19%.

IN a nutritional analysis coffee does well; it has been shown to have more anti-oxidants than grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges.

There are some downsides though - apparently the caffeine in a couple of cups of coffee reduced blood flow to the heart, especially during exercise at high altitude; OK drink a cup of decaf when you are skiing!

Finally, caffeine can increase blood pressure and with it a whole bunch of issues; heart disease being one of them.

So, who knows, drink up, smile and be happy. It's probably the fact that you can laugh and chat with a few people over a cup of espresso or coffee that helps in the end. Remember, "Everything in moderation, including moderation."

ReadMore at the NYT