Health Benefits Of Coffee
Posted by terrepruitt on July 28, 2009
I love coffee. I am not a connoisseur, but I love it. In the August 2009 copy of Self they touted that coffee has some amazing benefits.
The article, well, it is not so much an article as a few pages filled with pictures and facts, has one statement that says that if you want the healthiest coffee you should stick to the home brewed kind because the paper filters catch coffee compounds that can raise cholesterol.
Here are some highlights from that article. The information suggests that coffee MAY:
- assist in the prevention of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
- help your teeth with its “antibacterial and antiadhesive powers”
- reduce the risk of oral cancer by half
- help in limited cancer cell growth and DNA damage
- reduce the risk of breast cancer (in premenopausal women that drink 4 cups of regular coffee a day)
- help prevent gallstones
- reduce risk of nonmelanoma
- reduce chances of diabetes for people who drink 3 to 4 cups of regular or decaf
Information also states that drinking from 300 mg (3 cups of home brew) to 500 mg (16 oz Starbucks Pike Place Roast) in an hour could possibly make you panicky, increase stress hormones, and raise blood pressure.
Way surprising to me, it says that a shot of espresso “has less caffeine than a cup of drip does. Plus, one downside of espresso is that it may raise cholesterol.”
It also suggests to eat your cereal and dairy later, after your coffee because coffee might block the absorption of iron from fortified grains and could lower calcium uptake.
The pages reveal, along with a lot of other publications I’ve been seeing recently, that coffee helps you get through your workout. Not only does it give you a zing, it seems to block your brain from knowing your muscles are tired.
Those are just some highlights that somewhat focus on the health benefits.
Even though I teach my morning Nia classes in Willow Glen not too far from where I live, so I don’t have to get up super early, I still think I have more energy in the morning when I drink coffee. I don’t have any before I teach my evening class in San Jose, nor my late afternoon one in Los Gatos. But I feel like I need that extra “wake-up” in the morning. Do you drink coffee before your workout?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
Jill Campana said
Hi Terre. My husband and I own a coffee shop, The Java Dancer Coffee Bar within our gift shop (adjacent to Sacred Space Studio where I teach Nia).
Yes, I drink coffee in the morning — usually 2-3 cups and never after 11:00 a.m. since the caffeine is usually still pumping through my body and it will keep me awake half the night.
It is true that a shot of espresso has less caffeine in it than a cup of brewed coffee. It’s the way the bean is roasted…and when drinking espresso, the amount is so much less than the amount of beans one grinds for a brewer or drip maker.
I’m not sure that the coffee itself helps with a workout, but I won’t argue with research! Perhaps the fact that one is “satisfied” after a cup of coffee plus whatever amount of caffeine is in the system might be an advantage.
I don’t particularly feel that I have more energy…I drink it because I’m addicted to it and if I don’t drink it I get an outrageous headache. Caffeine is a drug. Just like nicotine is for smokers.
But if I’m going to do drugs, I’d rather do caffeine than anything else. Besides…what kind of coffee shop owner would I be if I didn’t drink my own product???? !!!!! 🙂
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terrepruitt said
Yes, I know you have a shop. I have a list of things I would like to purchase from you (one of these days soon).
I think that drinking caffeine late keeps me up, too. I try to stop before 1:00 pm.
A lot of personal trainers swear by coffee for a lot of reasons, but, Jill, you should ALWAYS question research because often times it is faulty. So it is a good idea to take things with a grain of salt and, if it is important enough (and you have time) look into it more. Just because “research have proven” or “studies show” that doesn’t mean anything.
I BELIEVE it gives me more energy, so therefore, it does! 🙂
Funny Woman! Thank you for stopping by! MUAH!
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Jill Campana said
You are absolutely right that I should question research!!! Thank you!
And a big mushy caffeinated smooch back to you! MUAH!!!
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terrepruitt said
I know you orignally said argue, but . . . that is kind of the same. You can argue with the “results’ which would lead to questions. In the last nutrition class I took it seemed to help me understand a lot of “research” and “studies” are not really ALL THAT.
I think I will work on something about that for a blog. It is really an eye opener.
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iSpirit Dancer said
I wish I could drink coffee but one cup leaves me up all night. I really don’t need it, but I’m already so forgetful. I’m thinking, I should drink it for that. My husband says, I should drink coffee because I am so forgetful. Now, what about caffeine? I thought people who are prone to it, it will shrink their arteries. The caffeine not the coffee.
T
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terrepruitt said
Ok, so are you saying that coffee helps you remember or ar you associated the information that it might help prevent Alzheimer’s with memory assistance?
And are you asking if caffeine shrinks arteries, if you are prone to it?
Maybe I need some coffee, it is not yet 1:00 am, but almost.
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