Is coffee really good for you?
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Posted on | July 8, 2010 | No Comments
“Coffee is good for you! It cures cancer! Caffeine is harmful. Coffee contains tannic acid!”
The debate about whether or not coffee is good for you, has been lobbed back and forth for years like a tennis ball, but a number of studies in recent years seem to indicate that java offers substantial health benefits.
For instance, one study recently published by the American Association for Cancer Research (source) stated that people who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 39 percent less likely to develop head and neck tumors. For the report, scientists pooled results from nine earlier studies on head and neck cancers, and compared information on coffee or tea drinking. Drinking tea didn’t appear to have the same positive affect as coffee drinking.
Other recent studies have shown that coffee drinkers may be at lower risk of liver and colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer and Parkinson’s disease. (source)
What makes coffee healthy?
So what is it about coffee that seems to reduce the risk for certain cancers, diabetes and heart disease? You might guess the caffeine, (which does improve alertness), but it’s not what gives coffee a health punch. A number of other beverages contain caffeine, even in equal amounts to coffee, but they don’t have the same health-enhancing properties. So what is that makes our favorite beverage special?
A couple of theories exist. One is that coffee beans, like many fruits and vegetables, contain antioxidants, healthy compounds that help your body get rid of cancer-causing free radicals. Polyphenols or flavonoids, the type of antioxidants found in coffee, are also found in other foods and drinks, like tea, red wine, and chocolate. But according to at least one study (source), coffee is the number-one source of antioxidants in the American diet. That could explain why it has such an impact!
Other possible reasons for coffee’s health power-punch might be that coffee contains natural compounds that discourage the growth of harmful bacteria, or that it contains those that encourage the growth of helpful bacteria (called probiotics). It’s also been shown that coffee may help manage levels of hormones in the body that control things such as hunger and fullness. (That’s good news if you’re trying to watch your weight).
So whether it is for the antixodidants, probiotics, or just to give you energy to clear the three o’clock hurdle, a cup of Joe is good idea any time of the year.
What’s your reason for drinking it?
Take our quiz (to the right).
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Why do you drink coffee?
- I don't drink coffee (67%)
- For the flavor (love it!) (33%)
- For the energy (0%)
- It's something to do (0%)
- For health reasons (0%)
- Other (0%)
Total Voters: 3
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