Something's Brewing

If you spend your whole day sitting outside your favourite outlets of Starbucks and The Coffee Bean, chances are, you're probably doing something right. New studies have come forth stating more conclusively than ever that coffee may just be the thing to make you live longer.

There have been many studies to say that drinking this brew, which commands a market of over $13.5 billion (in 2007), and has consumers drinking an average of over 2 1/2 cups of speciality coffee daily. (Source list: 1)

Coffee has a long history. According to National Geographic, legend says that the coffee bean was discovered by an Ethiopian goatherd as his herd danced from one shrub to another, and then spread through Africa, where it was then roasted and brewed in Arabia.

Right now, according to this website, over 19,000 studies have been conducted in recent years on how coffee affects our health. And while there's still more research needed, it has been shown that studies do show a trend towards coffee being healthy rather than harmful.

For one, there's protection of the heart and brain. A 2008 study of 130,000 people in the US found that those who drank between 2 and 5 cups a day of coffee had a 30 per cent lower risk of cardiovascular death. It is thought that antioxidants, called phenols and found within coffee beans may help in preventing deadly blood clots from forming. (Source list: 2)

The Harvard Heart Letter also states that coffee is not linked to the development of heart disease, and offers some protection against Type 2 diabetes and gallstones. (Source list: 3)

But there are always two sides to the story, and it's the same with coffee.

Most of the time, the problems with coffee lie within the fact that it causes us to lose sleep, through the effects caffeine. The stomach lining too is at a mercy to the oils, which then produces excessive amounts of hydrochloric acid and result in a number of digestive problems. A whole host of other problems can be found on this website

But all in all, it's important to keep in moderation. Just because coffee may have some benefits doesn't mean we should all rush down to the nearest coffee shop and overload ourselves on coffee. A recent study says keep it to 300mg of caffeine per day. That's up to three cups of coffee. (Source list: 4)

So go on, have a cuppa.





Source list:

1. COFFEE JITTERS. (Cover story). (2008, November 10). Brandweek, Retrieved January 21, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

2. Can coffee be a health food?. (2008, November). Consumer Reports on Health, Retrieved January 21, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

3. Coffee: A connection to good health?. (2008, October). Harvard Heart Letter, Retrieved January 21, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

4. White, A. (2008, November). Coffee Is Healthy. Dance Spirit, 12(9), 52-52. Retrieved January 21, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.