Coffee Please!

How would you like to lower your risk of Parkinson's disease, diabetes and colon cancer? Also could lift your mood, relieve headaches and lower the risk of getting cavities? Would you believe the substance may be coffee!

Harvard research learned that those who drink 1 to 3 cups of caffeinated coffee each day can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by several percentage points, compared with not drinking coffee at all. The study was conduced on 120,000 people over an 18-year period. Even more noteworthy which was discovered in this study is, increasing your intake to 6 cups or more per day reduced men's risk by 54% and women's risk by 30% over those who avoided coffee.

At Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, Researcher, Tomas DePaulis, PhD showed that coffee is far more beneficial than it is harmful. This conclusion came from its own research and tracks coffee studies around the world. People who drink coffee on a regular basis have up to 80% lower risks of developing Parkinson's disease, and some of those studies showed the more coffee they drink, the lower the risk. Just 2 cups per day lowered the risk of colon cancer by 25%, a drop in liver cirrhosis by 80%, and cut the risk of gallstones almost in half. "The evidence is very strong that regular coffee consumption reduces the risk for Parkinson's disease and that in the case of Parkinson's disease, the benefits are directly related to caffeine," according to Dr. DePaulis.

Is it just the caffeine that is responsible for those benefits? Studies also show the antioxidants in coffee beans, some of which become especially potent during the roasting process are helpful too. These antioxidants tocopherols and chlorogenic acid, as well as minerals such as magnesium have been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism. Decaffeinated coffee in studies does show a reduced diabetes risk, but the reduction in risk was 50% that of those drinking caffeinated coffee.

Coffee may stain your teeth but can benefit them too. Coffees bitter taste and aroma comes from a compound called trigonelline, which maybe responsible for giving coffee both anti-adhesive and antibacterial properties. This may help prevent the forming of dental cavities.

Coffee is not for everyone. In excessive amounts coffee can cause nervousness, jitters, and rapid heartbeat. Other factors may include higher cholesterol levels but these results come from the coffee oils, and develop in people who drink non-filtered or boiled coffee. Over all studies show no significant adverse affects on most healthy people, although pregnant women, heart patients, and those at risk for osteoporosis may still be advised to limit or avoid coffee.

Coffee crops are one of the most heavily sprayed with pesticides, fertilizer and herbicides. So as a coffee drinker you may consider only drinking organic coffee. Also to keep yourself as healthy as possible, it is also a good idea to avoid putting milk and sugar in your coffee. Many of the positive effects of coffee are offset by the negative attributes of cream and sugar. When making that perfect brew only use non-bleached filters. White coffee filters are bleached. In the bleaching process chlorine is use and could end up in your coffee when brewed.