Coffee how good is it
Why has coffee become so popular? From way back when, from the time of the legend of the goatherd watching his goats eat the berries and dance around the tree, coffee has held the world in its aromatic clutches. The secret ingredient is the caffeine it contains. First, let’s take a look at the effect the caffeine in coffee has on us and then ponder about how good or bad or indifferent it is.
In less than an hour of drinking caffeine you’ll find that it has spread its warm glow all over the body. This is because it is easily absorbed into the bloodstream and then makes its way to the brain where it blocks the adenosine receptors. In very simple layman terms, this means that your mood is elevated and you feel good. Not just that – your blood pressure increases as well as your gastric activity and this has been known to increase pain tolerance too. Though there is a danger of being addicted to coffee, people who do drink a lot of it seem to have higher cognitive abilities. Is this why the old coffee shops attracted the cerebral crowd?
Let’s look at the good stuff first so if you’re a coffee addict, you can read through and forget about all the bad stuff that comes later. Research into coffee seems to indicate that it could help lower the risk of Parkinson’s as well as colon cancer and diabetes. It could also relieve headaches and cavities. Studies have been conducted over an eighteen year period by Harvard on well over 100,000 people. So that could be very good news for those people all over the world, especially the millions in the US who just can’t surface without their morning coffee ritual. It also reduces the risk of gallstones and cirrhosis of the liver. Is it the higher caffeine content that is responsible for these health-giving qualities? It is quite possible. Coffee also gives sportsmen that extra endurance they so need.
Now for the not so good news. Coffee is not – er – everyone’s cup of tea. For a lot of people, coffee in excess can be the cause of a rapid pulse, nervousness and the jitters. In some people, coffee might just cause elevated levels of cholesterol. This condition is due to the coffee oils and if you want to, you could avoid this and drink filtered coffee. Some studies have shown that there could be a marginally higher risk for bladder cancer with excessive coffee but most other cancers tested negative. You also need to be careful if you have osteoporosis because coffee causes more calcium loss through the urine. You need to take precautions during pregnancy as it could increase the risks of low weight babies and maybe even spontaneous abortion.
Well, there you are – the pros and the cons. Now it’s up to you to use them well.