Coffee the Wonder Drug

Coffee the Wonder Drug: Studies Show it Fights Stroke, Dementia, Diabetes, Cancer



A morning cup of coffee may boost more than just your energy level.


A slew of new studies suggest coffee – once derided as a harmful stimulant – may improve your health by lowering the risk of diabetes, dementia, heart disease, and even some cancers.

Scientists aren’t sure exactly why coffee is protective. It contains healthful antioxidants and beneficial polyphenols including chlorogenic acids, which have been shown to prevent disease. Coffee also contains minerals such as magnesium and chromium that help the body use insulin, which controls blood sugar. Caffeine may be a factor, too, but many coffee studies have found decaf to be beneficial as well.

Dozens of studies comparing the health of coffee drinkers and abstainers have found potential benefits of at least moderate consumption. More than half of American adults drink at least three cups of coffee a day on average, according to the National Coffee Association. If you’re one of them, here’s what you need to know about the new findings that have researchers abuzz about coffee’s benefits.

Type 2 Diabetes

Harvard researchers found that coffee consumption is “associated with a substantially lower risk of Type 2 diabetes.” Specifically, men and women who drank more than six cups daily were 35 percent less likely to have Type 2 diabetes than people who drank fewer than two cups daily. Those who drank less – four to six cups – had a 28 percent lower risk than people who consumed fewer than two cups a day.

Heart Disease and Stroke

Doctors were once concerned about the cardiovascular effects of caffeine because it can raise a person’s heart rate and even cause palpitations. But a study released in March 2010 found coffee drinkers are actually less likely to be hospitalized for heart rhythm disturbances than non-drinkers.

A 2009 study of nurses enrolled in the long-running Nurses' Health Study found those who drank two to three cups of coffee a day had a 19 percent reduction in the risk of stroke. Researchers from Harvard and the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid who conducted the study, published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, found greater consumption lowered the risk even further.

Cancer

In May 2011, Harvard researchers released a study showing men who are heavy coffee drinkers have a significantly lower risk of developing prostate cancer. As part of Harvard’s Health Professionals Follow-Up Study, scientists tracked 47,911 men and found those who consumed six or more cups a day were 20 percent less likely to develop prostate cancer over two decades than those who drank none. Coffee drinkers were also 60 percent less likely to develop a lethal form of the disease. And even men who drank just one to three cups of coffee were nearly 30 percent less likely to develop lethal prostate cancer.

The study, published in the “Journal of the National Cancer Institute,” found it didn’t matter if the men drank regular or decaf.

In 2007, Italian researchers also reported coffee may lower the risk of developing liver cancer by as much 41 percent, based on a review of 10 major studies conducted in Europe and Japan.

Dementia and Alzheimer's

Studies of coffee drinkers in Europe have linked caffeine to a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

One 2009 study from Finland tracked 1,400 coffee drinkers for 20 years and found those who drank three to five cups of coffee daily in their 40s and 50s were 65 percent less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease than nondrinkers or those consuming less. Several other smaller studies have reached similar conclusions.   My Two Cents   Drink coffee without any guilt and know that it is actually good for you, but avoid drinking regular coffee after 6pm unless you want to stay up late.  Also, take you coffee without milk or sugar to control your calorie intake, but if you like your coffee sweet and white, then try skimmed milk or fat free dried dairy substitute and Splenda or NutraSweet.  These sugar substitute are perfectly fine!!