Do you like coffee? Do you ever wonder about how the coffee affects you beyond the taste and aroma that you love? Want to know some actual facts?
First, it takes between 15 and 45 minutes until the caffeine reaches its highest level in your bloodstream. The quantity of caffeine that gets to the brain will determine how intense the effects will be on the body and will generally peak within 30 to 60 minutes of ingestion and last for as long as there is caffeine in the blood. On average this will be 3 to 4 hours for a non-smoking adult to get rid of half of the caffeine. However, in the case of a woman taking the pill, caffeine's half-life reaches 13 hours. For a pregnant woman, it is 20 hours and part of it secretes into the breast milk. For those who are breast feeding, it takes the baby 30 hours to get rid of half the caffeine.
Caffeine in your coffee does affects you in a positive way and a negative way. The positive ways include:
Antioxidants. Coffee is rich in antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins. Antioxidants that help prevent oxidation; a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging.
Parkinson's disease. Regular coffee drinking reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease. Two studies have demonstrated that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.
Diabetes. Coffee drinking has the potential to protect against the development of type 2 diabetes. One study found that moderate consumption of both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee may lower the risk of type 2 diabetes in younger and middle aged women.
Liver cirrhosis. Coffee drinking may protect against liver cirrhosis, especially those with alcoholic cirrhosis.
Gallstones. There is some evidence that coffee drinking may be protective against the formation of gallstones in both sexes.
Kidney stones. Coffee consumption lowers the risk of kidney stones formation. Coffee increases the urine volume, preventing the crystallization of calcium oxalate, the most common component of kidney stones.
Increased mental performance. Once caffeine is absorbed, in small doses by a healthy person, it will have beneficial effects on the body, such as increased alertness and reduced fatigue. It can also reduce boredom of a lengthy, repetitive task requiring a sustained attention. Physically, the heart beat, respiration, gastro-enteric reflexes and stomach acid production are increased, and smooth muscles such as the bronchial muscle are relaxed. A cup of coffee can also increase information processing.
Alzheimer's disease. Regular coffee drinking may help to protect against Alzheimer's disease. A recent study in mice showed that caffeine in the amounts equivalent to 5 cups of coffee per day reduced the build up of destructive plaques in the brain.
Asthma. Caffeine in coffee is related to theophylline, an old asthma medication. Caffeine can open airways and improve asthma symptoms.
Caffeine safety. In 1958, caffeine was placed on the Food and Drug Administration’s Multi-Purpose Food Substances list as “generally recognized as safe”. Many people feel that the FDA caters to commercial entities rather than the American public.
Okay, sounds good, but lets see the negative ways.
Heart disease. This is somewhat controversial. Most prospective cohort studies haven't found that coffee consumption is associated with significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease. A recent Greek study and one at John Hopkins Medical Institute provided evidence that heavy coffee drinkers (5 cups or more) are more likely to have coronary heart disease than non coffee drinkers. These tests did not take in other factors such as lifestyles, caffeine content or brewing methods.
On the other hand, a lower risk of heart disease among moderate coffee drinkers who drank only one or two cups per day might be due to antioxidants found in coffee.
Cholesterol. Heavy consumption of boiled coffee elevates blood total and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. Unfiltered coffee contains two cholesterol-raising compounds cafestol and kahweol. The affects of dripped filtered coffee has not been determined.
Blood vessels. Coffee negatively affects the blood vessel tone and function.
Heart rhythm disturbances. Coffee can cause rapid or irregular heartbeats (cardiac arrhythmias) in some people.
Blood pressure. Although coffee drinking is not a significant risk factor for hypertension, it produces unfavorable effects on blood pressure and people prone to hypertension may be more susceptible. A recent Italian study found that coffee drinking can slightly increase the risk for development of sustained hypertension in people who already have elevated blood pressure.
Osteoporosis. Coffee intake may induce an extra urinary excretion of calcium. Heavy coffee consumption (600 ml or more) can modestly increase the risk of osteoporosis, especially in women with a low calcium intake.
Heartburn. A cup of coffee can trigger heartburn. Again, this depends on the health of the individual and there sensibility to acidity.
Sleep. Most are aware of the stimulatory effects of caffeine. High amounts of caffeine taken before going to sleep can cause difficulty in falling asleep, tendency to be awakened more readily by sudden noises, and a decreased quality of sleep. However, some people can drink coffee and fall right asleep.
Dehydration. The caffeine in coffee is a mild diuretic and can increase urine excretion. This effect may be easily neutralized by drinking an extra glass of water. When you drink an extra glass of water you are also hydrating of your body, especially in hot weather.
Dependence. Although generally recognized as safe by the FDA, caffeine is still a drug, a mild central nervous system stimulant, and it produces dependence. Caffeine withdrawal is a real syndrome. You may get a few days of headache and irritability if you choose to quit drinking coffee, however, it is relatively easy to break this habit, and most people are not addicted to caffeine. Caffeine addiction is usually seen in those who drink more than a moderate amount of coffee.
In the final diagnosis, each individual has to be aware of what there body tolerates and what it does not tolerate. Women need to be more careful when they are pregnant or nursing infants, but we should all be careful to respect the possible negative affects of the caffeine in coffee.
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