The Coffee Confusion

Initial concerns with drinking coffee were in relation to diseases and that there could be possible links due to high caffeine intake. However the protections against the diseases of concern noted in the studies were substantial. Since coffee beans are loaded with antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and melanoidins it is recommended that coffee should be consumed without dairy, sugar or sweeteners. Also flavored coffee should be avoided due to the additives. Antioxidants help prevent oxidation, a process that causes damage to cells and contributes to aging. A Norwegian study found that a typical serving of brewed coffee is richer in antioxidants than a serving of blueberries, raspberries, pineapples, or many fruit juices. Another association with coffee drinkers is the pastries, muffins and cigarettes which regularly are part and parcel with a cup of coffee, these additional consumptions could be what cause bad health more than just coffee alone. Organic black coffee with natural whole grain toast or pastries is a much healthier way to have your caffeine fix without adding items that minimize or neutralize the benefit of coffee’s antioxidant.

Regular coffee consumption has also been known to reduce the risk of such diseases as Parkinson’s disease, the development of type 2 diabetes, liver cirrhosis, gallstones, and kidney stones. Coffee consumption lowers the risk of kidney stones formation. Coffee increases the urine volume, preventing the crystallization of calcium oxalate, the most common component of kidney stones.

The best form of coffee is organic, high-quality, and freshly ground. The good parts of coffee that contain antioxidants come from the first brew, when the water passes over the grounds. In a pot of coffee, the first cup or two that comes out has the essential elements that may benefit us. The other 6 cups are less healthy, as they are mostly the acidic, volatile oils and caffeine.

New research has shown that adding a few cups of coffee to the carbohydrates eaten by athletes following exercise boosts muscle recovery by up to 60 per cent – apparently solving a problem that has foxed sports physiologists until now. The study, published in the Journal of Applied Physiology in July, has found a solution to a problem that has resulted in increasingly complex dietary schemes designed to help athletes recover faster.
"If you give an athlete more petrol in the tank, they will go further. What we've done is to give them 50-60 per cent more petrol," said Professor John Hawley, head of the exercise metabolism group at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Victoria, Australia. "It has been incredibly hard for exercise physiologists to help athletes in this way, and it's a dilemma that has occupied researchers for decades. We asked athletes to ingest caffeine, which has no nutritional benefit, and the results were astounding."

In the study, athletes cycled to exhaustion before eating a carbohydrate sports drink, bar or gel with a high caffeine dose – the equivalent of five or six cups of strong coffee – immediately after the exercise, and then two hours later. "We found that the amount of carbohydrate that could be stored by the muscles when ingested along with caffeine was about 60 per cent higher than with carbohydrates alone. If you've got 60 per cent more fuel there for your next day's run, cycle ride or football game, there is no question that you would be able to go further or faster.

"The practical outcome of that is that an athlete training or competing the next day will have a better training session or race," Dr Hawley predicted. "Caffeine has a wonderful effect on both short-term sprint performance and on endurance. It is a remarkable drug that affects both ends of the spectrum."

By: Kerry Crawford

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Thank you for reading my article on ‘The Coffee Confusion’ I hope you found it an interesting read and you are looking forward to enjoying your next coffee. Kerry Crawford www.allcafes.com.au www.allgroups.com.au