Know More about Coffee, Take Some More

Coffee is probably the most frequently ingested beverage worldwide. The Scandinavians (Norwegians, Swedish and the Danes) have a high prevalence of coffee-drinkers, and they traditionally make their coffee by boiling ground coffee beans and water. Because of its consumption in most countries in the world, it is interesting, from both a public and a scientific perspective, to discuss its potential benefits or adverse aspects.

   


 Consumed for its refreshing and stimulating effect, it belongs to the tribe coffea of the sub-family Cinchonoidea of Rubiaceae family. Coffee is a complex chemical mixture composed of several chemicals. It is responsible for a number of bioactivities and a number of compounds account for these effects. Some of the significant bioactivities documented are antioxidant activity, anticarcticinogenic activity, antimutagenic activity etc. Various compounds responsible for the chemo-protective effect of coffee are mainly polyphenols including chlorogenic acids and their degradation products. Others include caffeine, kahweol, cafestol, and other phenolics.

      Coffee also shows protective or adverse effects on various systems like the skeletal (bone) system, the reproductive system, the homocysteine levels, the cholesterol levels etc. Harmful effects of coffee are associated with people who are sensitive to stimulants.

George SE et al of the central food Technological Research Institute, Mysore, India while working on health benefits of coffee concluded that the moderate consumption of coffee, corresponding to three to four cups/ day with average strength is safer to human health.

 

      More so, Ranneim and Halvorsen, of the Department of Medical Genetics, Rikshopitalet University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, while working on the beneficial or detrimental effects of coffee consumption in relation to two main health problems, namely cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus concluded that based on the literature reviewed, it is apparent that moderate daily filtered, coffee intake is not associated with any adverse effects on cardiovascular outcome. On the contrary, the data shows that coffee has a signification antioxidant activity, and may have an inverse association with the risk of type two diabetes mellitus.

     Studies examining the association between coffee consumption and coronary heart disease have been inconclusive. Coffee is a complex mixture of compound and as every other consumed product may have either beneficial or harmful effects on the cardiovascular

system. A recent study examining the relationship between coffee and risk of myocardial infarction incorporate a genetic polymorphism associated with a slower rate of caffeine also affects risk of coronary heart disease, but by far, more other studies have reported a protective effect of moderate coffee consumption, which suggests that coffee contains other compounds that may be beneficial.

       Cornelis and El-sohemy of the department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto Ontario, Canada, however emphasized that Diterpenes present in unfiltered coffee and caffeine each appear to increase risk of coronary heart disease and a lower risk of coronary heart disease among moderate coffee drinkers might be due to antioxidants found in coffee.

 

      Grobbe and others of the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard school of public Health, Boston, concluded from their work that findings do not support the hypothesis that coffee or caffeine consumption increases the risk of coronary heart disease or stroke.

     While Klag and others in a Johns Hopkins precursors study on whether the increase in blood pressure with coffee drinking seen in clinical trials persists over time and translates into an increased incidence of hypertension concluded that over many years of follow-up, coffee drinking is associated with small increases in blood pressure, but appears to play a small role in the development of hypertension.

       Geleijnse of the Wageningen University, Netherlands, found out that most evidence suggests that regular intake of caffeinated coffee does not increase the risk of hypertension when they did an epidemiological survey on habitual coffee consumption and blood pressure. 

    More advances in science point towards the fact that coffee is more beneficial to the body than being harmful. A better percentage however advocates moderation in usage, the conclusion the health practitioners will give on the consumption of almost all foods, meat, fish or drinks except water and fruits. Therefore I would not advise you against it but will say, take without fear, as lack of fear is the greatest killer of all ailments.

   

  Culled from Daily Independent.

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

                                                                                                                            Peter Esegbue-Peters