“I don’t have a problem with caffeine. I have a problem without caffeine!”
Do you enjoy a good cup (or 2) of coffee in the morning? That nice warm pick me up to get your day started and get you ready for life? Most of us do! But in the past there has always been different ideas about it’s role in your health.
Fight diabetes with coffee
In a 2014 meta-analysis involving 1.1 million people, an inverse dose-response relationship was shown between diabetes risk and the consumption of coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea. This relationship was first established in the year 2005 when evidence demonstrated that coffee can help significantly lower their risk for developing diabetes. Since then people have continued to test and evaluate the possible benefits of coffee and caffeine on your body.
The 2014 Meta-Analysis included data from 28 prospective studies, more than 1.1 million individual subjects, and more than 45,000 cases of type 2 diabetes. Follow-ups were as long as 20 years. The findings? Caffeinated coffee is protective against type 2 diabetes, with consumption of 3 to 4 cups per day associated with a 25% risk reduction for diabetes compared with 2 or fewer cups per day. Those who drank less than 1 cup per day experienced a 4% risk reduction while those who drank more than 6 cups per day experienced a 40% risk reduction. Similar benefits were associated with decaf and tea. Now while 6 cups of coffee a day might have some other not so great reactions (coffee jitters, anyone?) – it does mean that the beverage is better for you than people thought!
It’s worth noting some other risk factors for type 2 diabetes: Smoking, excess body fat, physical inactivity, sugar consumption, high intake of processed foods including wheat, stain drugs, or poor gut health. Trans fats and red meat are also associated with higher risk while whole grains may be protective. So while coffee may not be the only thing standing between you and diabetes, it’s good to know that a few cups won’t mess up your healthy lifestyle! So go ahead and enjoy that next cup even more.
Heart disease. The lowest risk of cardiovascular disease is seen with the consumption of 3 to 5 cups of coffee per day.”
Increase your memory with coffee
Do you struggle remembering anything until you’ve had that first cup in the morning? How many of us say ‘I’m just not awake till I’ve had my coffee.’ Well science agrees with you!
A recent study at John Hopkins University showed that 200 mg of caffeine (one strong cup of coffee) boosts memory. The study also found that 100 mg of caffeine DID NOT have the same benefit. In this study, 300 mg also did not show further improvement in memory. This means you don’t need to go crazy and get a triple shot quad red eye the next time you go to Starbucks. So what type of coffee has the best memory boost? Well a typical espresso has 75mg (not bad), 12oz Americano has around 150mg (sounds good), and a 12oz 4 shot latte can have around 300mg (wow!). You can always look up caffeine levels on the web, I found those on http://www.caffeineinformer.com/.
Before you go downing shots of espresso before a big test or meeting it’s important to note that high doses (individualized) can result in anxiety, high blood pressure and headaches. Know your limits!
Reference: For more information on caffeine and its neurological function, please visit this website:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1182710-overview