FOOD ARTICLE

Coffee

BENEFITS

• Mild laxative and diuretic
• Stimulates alertness
• Can keep you awake when needed
• May reduce risk of diabetes

DRAWBACKS(SIDE EFFECT)

• A high intake of cafetiere or percolated coffee is linked to an increased risk of heart disease
• Can cause migraine in susceptible individuals
• In women, an excessive intake may increase the risk of osteoporosis in later life

As well as being a rich source of caffeine, coffee also contains at least 300 other active ingredients; many are beneficial antioxidants and one, niacin, is a vitamin. Niacin is produced during the bean-roasting process and one cup of coffee provides about 1mg of the vitamin. But you would need to drink about 15 cups to obtain the adult daily requirement of niacin from this source. Any other nutritional value in the drink comes from added milk and sugar. The caffeine in coffee is a natural diuretic.

Coffee and heart disease

Some studies have found that male coffee drinkers, who drink more than six cups of coffee a day, face an increased risk of heart disease. However, this risk is associated more with the method of preparing coffee than with its caffeine content. When coffee is prepared in a cafetiere, a percolator, by the espresso method, or by adding hot water to coffee grounds and bringing to the boil, two chemicals are released which raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. These chemicals are removed when coffee is filtered through a paper, and also during the manufacture of instant coffee.

Drinking a cup of coffee increases the heart rate and raises blood pressure slightly. But moderate coffee drinking does not cause high blood pressure; even people with existing high blood pressure do not need to stop drinking coffee altogether. Furthermore, research from Britain and the US has indicated that filtered coffee does not lead to abnormal heart rhythms among heart attack victims; so there is no need to avoid coffee if you have suffered a heart attack.
Other studies show that there tends to be a reduced risk of diabetes among coffee-drinkers and that coffee actually helps to control blood glucose in those with the condition.

Possible hazards

• Women should not drink too much coffee: studies indicate that women who regularly drink more than three or four cups a day face reduced fertility and also a greater risk of brittle bones (osteoporosis) after the menopause and in old age.
• Caffeine prompts a temporary rise in blood pressure; it can also provoke cardiac arrhythmias in some people.
• Coffee is among the most commonly cited migraine triggers, and many people find that it causes sleeplessness if drunk too late at night.
• Caffeine withdrawal symptoms can be experienced by heavy coffee drinkers who suddenly stop drinking it. They include headaches and severe irritability, but these disappear after a few days.

Decaf

The stimulating effect of caffeine can be avoided by drinking decaffeinated coffee. At one time there was concern that the organic solvents employed for decaffeination left harmful residues, but this does not happen with the liquid carbon dioxide that is now used.