Monday 19 October 2020

Is caffeine good for you? Let's have a look at just how that coffee/tea may be affecting our health.

 


On average, about 80% of adults take some form of caffeine every day, usually from coffee, tea, soda, or energy drinks.

But does all that caffeine have any effect on your health, either good or bad?

"While caffeine can give you a temporary mental and physical boost, its impact depends on how much you consume and the source," says Dr. Stephen Juraschek, an internal medicine specialist at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre.

A stimulating effect

Caffeine is a natural stimulant. Its main effect is on the central nervous system, where it can increase alertness and provide a needed boost when you are tired.

Caffeine's effect peaks within an hour after consumption, and the body eliminates half of it within about four to six hours. Yet, how people react to caffeine varies depending on their sensitivity and how quickly it is digested.

"This is why some people can get a jolt from a small cup of coffee, while others can drink several cups and feel little, if anything," says Dr. Juraschek. "It's also possible that your body can adjust to how it reacts to caffeine the more you consume."

It's this variation that makes pinpointing caffeine's influence on health a challenge. Still, science has shown some intriguing findings.

For example:

Heart:  High doses of caffeine can temporarily raise your heart rate and blood pressure, which may pose dangers for some people with heart disease. Yet regular consumption does not disrupt your heart's rhythm enough to create the dangerous irregular pattern known as atrial fibrillation, according to a study in the January 2016 “Journal of the American Heart Association”.

Memory:  Some research has suggested that caffeine may protect against dementia, including Alzheimer's disease. One observational study in the Dec. 14, 2016, issue of “The Journals of Gerontology, Series A” found that adults ages 65 and older who took an average of 261 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day (about the amount in two to three 8-ounce cups of coffee) for 10 years reported fewer dementia symptoms compared with those who consumed an average of 64 mg daily (the amount in a little more than half-cup of coffee). Still, it's not understood whether caffeine, or other nutrients in coffee like antioxidants or some combination, is at play.

Erectile Function:  Regular caffeine intake may improve erectile dysfunction (ED), suggests a 2015 study in the journal “Plos One”.  Researchers compared daily caffeine intake and rates of ED in men who were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.  They found that those who consumed daily caffeine equal to two to three cups of coffee were 42% less likely to report ED compared with those who drank less, and that the effect applied even to men who were overweight or had hypertension.  The connection may be related to caffeine's ability to increase blood flow, but more research is needed.

Exercise:  Many studies have found that a jolt of caffeine can improve athletic endurance and reduce fatigue.  The amounts often studied range from about 225 mg to 600 mg, taken about an hour beforehand.  Yet, much of the research involves high-level athletes, and the type of exercise tends to vary, says Dr. Juraschek, so it's not clear exactly how caffeine may help the average person.  "Consuming some caffeine before hitting the gym may work for some, but not for others," he says. "It doesn't hurt to try but be realistic that it probably won't make a huge impact on your results."

Lose the energy drinks

Some research has shown that popular energy drinks can cause a dangerous jolt to your cardiovascular system. A small study in the April 26, 2017 “Jama” found that healthy people who consumed a 32-ounce energy drink that contained 320 mg of caffeine and 108 grams of sugar were more likely to have an abnormal electrocardiogram after two hours and mildly elevated blood pressure after six hours.

Watch your intake

Overall, for most people, consuming caffeine poses no serious health risk if taken within safe amounts, says Dr. Juraschek.

People who have never had a heart attack or keep their blood pressure well controlled should consume no more than 400 mg per day, which is the amount found in about four cups of coffee or up to 10 cups of black tea.

"This amount is considered safe and isn't linked to any long-term effect on blood pressure or heart attack or stroke risk," says Dr. Juraschek.

However, if you've had a heart attack or been diagnosed with heart disease, you should keep your dosage to about half that per day, says Dr. Juraschek.

Your source of caffeine matters, too.  Coffee and tea are great because they also contain some disease-fighting antioxidants, but you want to avoid stirring in too much cream and sugar, which add extra calories and fat.

Also skip the fizzy energy drinks, or at least reduce your intake, as it often contains very high amounts of caffeine in a single serving and is full of sugar and other unhealthy additives.

 

What are the top health benefits of drinking coffee?


Your brew gives you benefits beyond an energy boost. Here are the top ways coffee can positively impact your health:

 

You could live longer.

Recent studies found that coffee drinkers are less likely to die from some of the leading causes of death in women: coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease.

Your body may process glucose (or sugar) better.

That’s the theory behind studies that found that people who drink more coffee are less likely to get type 2 diabetes.

You're less likely to develop heart failure.

Drinking one to two cups of coffee a day may help ward off heart failure when a weakened heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the body.

You are less likely to develop Parkinson's disease.

Caffeine is not only linked to a lower chance of developing Parkinson’s Disease, but it may also help those with the condition better control their movements.

Your liver will thank you.

Both regular and decaf coffee seem to have a protective effect on your liver. Research shows that coffee drinkers are more likely to have liver enzyme levels within a healthy range than people who don’t drink coffee.

Your DNA will be stronger.

Dark roast coffee decreases breakage in DNA strands, which occur naturally but can lead to cancer or tumours if not repaired by your cells.

Your odds of getting colon cancer will go way down.

One in 23 women develop colon cancer. But researchers found that coffee drinkers, decaf or regular, were 26 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer.

You may decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease.

Almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease are women. But the caffeine in two cups of coffee may provide significant protection against developing the condition. In fact, researchers found that women age 65 and older who drank two to three cups of coffee a day were less likely to develop dementia in general.

You're not as likely to suffer a stroke.

For women, drinking at least one cup of coffee a day is associated with lowered stroke risk, which is the fourth leading cause of female deaths.


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