Coffee Prevents Cancer, Coffee Prevents Type 2 Diabetes, Coffee Improves Physical and Mental Performance
In my last article you have read the 8 negative effects of coffee (caffeine). However most of the negative effects are associated with just too much intake of caffeine. But if taken in moderate amount, there are lot of coffee health benefits. Though most of the coffee health benefits come from the key ingredient of coffee i.e. caffeine, but the coffee has many other ingredients too in small amount which have positive health benefits.
Coffee helps in type 2 Diabetes prevention, coffee prevents cancer, coffee improves your memory, coffee improves physical performance and there are many other coffee health benefits associated. In this article we will read the coffee health benefits, how the coffee prevents cancer, coffee prevents type 2 diabetes, coffee improves physical performance, coffee improves memory, coffee helps lose weight, other coffee benefits and recommended coffee intake value.
Caffeine probably is the largest consumed psychoactive drug in the world.The caffeine content in coffee may varies based on several factors including types of beans, roasting method of bean and other factors. But as an average, 8 ounce cup of coffee is approximately 100 mg of caffeine.
How much coffee is recommended per day?
Adults – Up to 400 mg of caffeine (coffee) a day is recommended for adults.
For Adolescents (Teenagers) – For teenagers up to 100 mg of caffeine is recommended.
Children – Not recommended for children.
Here are the most proven benefits of coffee (caffeine)
1. Caffeine Lowers Risk of Some Types of Cancers
One of the major caffeine (coffee) health benefits is lowering the risk of many types of cancers. For instance Liver Cancer, Colorectal Cancer, Skin Cancer, Oral Cancer, Prostate Cancer (in men) and Endometrial Cancer (in women).
Cancer is characterized by the uncontrolled cells growth in your body and is one of the world’s leading causes of death. Coffee keeps a check on such free radical cells and thus the coffee prevents risk of cancer.
1.1 Caffeine (Coffee) Lowers Skin Cancer Risks
Cancer Research has published an observational study (a study that shows an association but not causation) on coffee health benefits in July 2012. According to this research, people in a test group drank four cups of coffee a day. As a result, professionals reported that higher the consumption of caffeine was, the lower was the risk of developing basal cell carcinoma, the most common type of skin cancer
1.2 Coffee Lowers Liver Cancer Risks
Some studies (study 1, study 2) show that coffee drinkers have up to a 40% lower risk of liver cancer. To make a note, Liver cancer is the Third Leading Cause of Deaths in world.
1.3 Coffee Lowers Colorectal cancer Risks
The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has published a study in June 2012. As per the study, out of 489,706 individuals those who drank 4-5 cups of coffee per day had a 15% lower risk of colorectal cancer. To clarify, Colorectal cancer is the fourth leading cause of death in world.
1.4 Coffee Health Benefit to Lower Prostate Cancer Risks (In Men)
NCBI has published a study in June 2011 which shows that regular coffee intake may decrease the risk of developing prostate cancer (in men) by 20%.
1.5 Coffee Health Benefit to Lower Endometrial Cancer (in women) Risk
According to the same study of NCBI, coffee may decrease the risk of developing endometrial cancer (in women) by 25 %.
1.6 Prevents Oral Cancer
American Journal of Epidemiology has published an observational study in January 2013. According to this study, out of 968,432 men and women, 868 were died with oral cancer during the 26-year study period. Therefore It was observed that the regular coffee drinkers who were taking around four cups of caffeinated coffee daily, had about half the death risk from oral cancer.
2. Coffee Health Benefit to Improve Mental Performance and Mental Alertness
European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), Parma, Italy has published a study in 2011. According to this study the moderate intake of caffeine can help you stay focused. Because the coffee increases the brain functions and concentration with enhanced firing of neurons.
Caffeine (The stimulant found in coffee) is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine is absorbed into the blood and travels through your brain along with blood stream. In brain, caffeine acts to block an inhibitory neurotransmitter i.e. Adenosine.
This blockage action of Adenosine acts to increase the amount of other neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine and dopamine. Hence this increase in norepinephrine and dopamine neurotransmitters leads to enhanced firing of neurons (study says). This causes a stimulant effect which improves the mental performance, various brain functions, energy levels, your mood and mental alertness.
3. Coffee Health Benefit – Caffeine May Improve Your Memory
According to an observational study published on Alzheimer’s & Dementia in July 2015, consumption of caffeine improves memory and concentration. It is found in research that those who consume coffee regularly got improvement in executive functioning such as planning, executing, organizing, and time management in healthy older adults (average age 74).
According to a team of researchers from the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, any amount of regular coffee (caffeine) intake may help in improving your memory.
4. Caffeine Can Help Control Pain
A study published on Cochrane Library suggests that a single dose of 100 mg of caffeine and 200 mg of ibuprofen was more effective in relief from migraine and postoperative pain than the painkiller alone. Though this particular combination of ibuprofen and caffeine drugs in not usually available in commercial market but a close formulation can give the same result. For example, you can take 200 mg of ibuprofen along with a cup of moderately strong coffee.
5. Caffeine Makes Working Out Easier and Improve Physical Performance
There are plenty of studies proving that a cup of coffee can increase your physical performance and improve your physical workout dramatically.
According to a study at NCBI, a cup of black coffee (caffeine) about an hour before workout can increase your physical performance by 11-12%.
Caffeine breaks down the body fat cells into fatty acid released into blood. So our body cells can use these cells as fuel to produce energy (study 1, study 2). This eventually increasing the physical operformance of our body.
Another study at NCBI says that Have caffeine found in coffee increases level of adrenaline in your blood. To clarify, Adrenaline is a stimulant hormone which prepares your body for physical exertion.
Having a couple of coffees at your favorite coffee shop before you head to the gym could power up your workout, says Michael Duncan, PhD.
The Journal of Nutrition, Health & Aging has published an experimental in December 2014 conducted by Dr. Michael Duncan (PhD), professor of exercise science at Coventry University in the United Kingdom.
In this study 19 healthy older adults between ages 61 and 79 were examined for the coffee effects on their physical workout performance. And the study shows that people who drank around four cups of instant coffee or two cups of filtered coffee before their exercise, performed more better than those who didn’t.
In nutshell, caffeine (coffee) increases physical performance with two functions i.e. it increase adrenaline levels and it release fatty acids from the fat tissues into blood stream. Well, it’s not a bad idea then to have a cup of coffee just 30 minutes before you start your workout.
6. Coffee Helps Burn Fat and Lose Weight
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (AJCN) has published a research in Jan 2004 which shows that caffeine (coffee) helps increasing the fat burn process upto10% in obese people and up to 29% in lean people.
To clarify, Caffeine has been proven to burn fat and break down the fat cells into fatty acid. These fatty acids are released into blood stream to be used by body cells as their fuel. You must be surprised to know that almost every fat burning supplements contain some amount of caffeine.
A study published on NCBI proven that caffeine can boost your metabolic rate by 3% to 11%.
7. Coffee Health Benefit – Coffee is Highly Rich in Antioxidants
A research published at NCBI claims that coffee is the major source of antioxidants in most of the people, even more than fruits and vegetables. This is because coffee contains a massive amount of antioxidants. Being full of antioxidants, coffee is one of the healthiest beverages in the world.
The antioxidants found in coffee play the role of little warriors in our body fighting and protecting against free radicals. So yes, you might have thought it right – this is the fact behind anti-cancer qualities of coffee.
8. Moderate Amount of Coffee is Good For Your Heart
Susanna C. Larsson (PhD), associate professor in Institute of Environmental Medicine at Karolinska says that coffee may lower your risk of developing coronary artery disease and stroke keeping your heart healthy.
9. Coffee Effects on Type 2 Diabetes – Good for Non-Diabetic, Bad for Diabetic
Well, this is subject to further research though but as per most of the researches conducted so far, coffee has different effects on people who are not diabetic yet and on those who already got diabetes.
In people who are not yet diabetic, coffee helps to prevent them from getting diabetes. (Study 1, Study 2)
But on contrary, in people who already got diabetes, coffee may worsen the situation. Coffee gives a spike in postprandial blood glucose level. Because the caffeine (major ingredients in coffee) increases ambulatory glucose and postprandial responses in coffee drinkers with type 2 diabetes.
Conclusion – If you are already diabetic, you may need to stop caffeine intake. But if you are not diabetic yet, your coffee will reduce the risk of being diabetic.
10. Coffee Makes Your Mood Happy, Fights Depression, Prevents Suicidal Thoughts
Caffeine (The stimulant found in coffee) is absorbed into blood and travels through your brain along with blood stream. With consumption of caffeine, the central nervous system gets stimulated which increases the production of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and noradrenaline. These neurotransmitter hormones are associated with brightening up your mood, reducing depression and reducing the suicidal thoughts.
11. Coffee Health Benefit – It Has Many Essential Nutrients
There are many essential nutrients in coffee which makes it one of the healthier drinks in the world.
A cup of coffee contains:
| Nutrient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) | 11% of the RDA |
| Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) | 6% of the RDA |
| Manganese and Potassium | 3% of the RDA |
| Magnesium and Niacin (B3) | 2% of the RDA |
12. Coffee Health Benefit – It Protects From Alzheimer’s Disease and Dementia
High level of caffeine (coffee) in your blood also protects your brain reducing the risk of Alzheimer disease and dementia. Unfortunately the Alzheimer’s disease doesn’t have a cure yet but there are possibilities to prevent it if you take precautions of few things including healthy diet and regular exercise. Drinking coffee regularly has shown surprisingly positive effect to prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Several studies (study 1, study 2) show that people who drink coffee regularly are 65% less likely to suffer from Alzheimer’s disease.
13. Coffee Health Benefit – It Lowers Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
The Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry has recently published a research which suggests that people who drank at least 4 cups of coffee were at less risk of developing Multiple Sclerosis. To clarify, Coffee prevents the neural inflammation which may be the cause of developing Multiple Sclerosis
14. Caffeine Lowers The Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Caffeine in particular has great effect to lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease as per the study published in American Journal of Epidemilogy
Parkinson’s disease is caused by death of dopamine generating neurons in the brain. This disease comes at number two among the most common neurodegenerative diseases in the world; while the Alzheimer’s disease is at number one.
Same as with Alzheimer’s, the Parkinson’s Disease also doesn’t have a cure so it becomes more important to focus on prevention from the disease. Studies show that people who drink coffee regularly have 32%-60% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease
15. Coffee Makes Your DNA Stronger
The NCBI has published a study in Feb 2015 which shows that people who are regular coffee drinkers have DNA with stronger integrity. To sum up, Coffee consumption causes a decrease in oxidative damage in peripheral white blood cells (WBC).
16. Coffee Health Benefit – It Protects Your Liver From Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis is a liver disease in which the liver is largely replaced by scar tissue. While there may be many factors and liver disease causing to cirrhosis including fatty liver and hepatitis etc. Researches has shown that the coffee may help protecting from cirrhosis. In a test group of people those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day, had up to 80% lower risk of cirrhosis. (study 1, study 2)
Interesting? wanna buy some coffee now? Here are the best choices to go with.
