07/20/2009 - 3:11am

Coffee as Brain Food

My mother always told me that coffee would stunt my growth (my grandmother let me drink it anyway). My daughter warns me that drinking coffee will cause osteoporosis (I drink it anyway). Do not dare to speak to me or ask me to function before my first cup of coffee in the morning, so I was very happy to read a report in the AARP Bulletin about the myriad health benefits of coffee!!

Many, many scientific studies have been done and are being done on the effects of coffee on human health. Only cigarettes have been studied more than coffee.

Among the benefits of coffee:

It may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes, several types of cancer (liver, endometrial, colorectal), suicide and some mood disorders, gallstones, cirrhosis of the liver and cavities.
It is an emergency treatment for asthma attacks, first aid for headaches and a way for alcoholics to quit drinking.

Drinking 3-5 cups a day may keep dementia at bay.

There is a lower risk of strokes among coffee drinkers and the more cups you drink, the lower the risk.
Coffee may disrupt a protein that causes sun-damaged skin cell to turn into skin cancer.
Women coffee and tea drinkers had a lower chance of endometrial cancer, again the more consume, the lower the disease rates.

It relieves the pain after exercising.

Coffee is a source of powerful antioxidant and phytochemicals. Roasting coffee beans causes chemical reaction that makes some of the disease-fighting antioxidants even more powerful.

Caffeine alone reacts with certain brain receptors, which may explain why studies have shown that it protects against Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, improve moods, lowers suicide rates and reduces pain. But the chlorogenic acids in coffee add more brain-boosting benefits than the caffeine alone.

However, coffee doesn’t seem to have any effect on breast, kidney, ovarian, prostate or stomach cancer. More than six cups a day seems to be linked with a higher risk of bladder cancer in men (not in women). And people whose mothers drank more than 2 cups while pregnant seem to have a higher rate of leukemia.
Osteoporosis? Drinking up to 4 cups a day is OK.

Heart arrhythmias? Really OK to drink coffee. Studies show that coffee is a rich source of magnesium- good for heart health. Its antioxidants help reduce inflammation and protect the inner lining of blood vessels.

The bottom line is: for most people over 50, there is no reason to stop drinking coffee. The cream and sugar that go with it are a different story.