Coffee Benefits
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Benefits
[edit] Reduced risk of Alzheimers disease
Several studies comparing moderate coffee drinkers (about 2 cups a day) with light coffee drinkers (less than one cup a day) found that those who drank more coffee were significantly less likely to develop Alzheimers disease later in life. [2][3]
[edit] Reduced risk of gallstone disease
Drinking caffeinated coffee has been correlated with a lower incidence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in both men[4] and women[5] in two studies performed by the Harvard School of Public Health. A lessened risk was not seen in those who drank decaffeinated coffee.
[edit] Reduced risk of Parkinsons disease
A study comparing heavy coffee drinkers (3.5 cups a day) with non-drinkers found that the coffee drinkers were significantly less likely to contract Parkinsons Disease later in life. [6]. Likewise, a second study found an inverse relationship between the amount of coffee regularly drunk and the likelihood of developing Parkinsons Disease. [7]
[edit] Cognitive performance
Many people drink coffee for its ability to increase short term recall and increase IQ[8].
Likewise, in tests of simple reaction time, choice reaction time, incidental verbal memory, and visuospatial reasoning, participants who regularly drank coffee were found to perform better on all tests, with a positive relationship between test scores and the amount of coffee regularly drunk. Elderly participants were found to have the largest effect associated with regular coffee drinking. [9] Another study found that women over the age of 80 performed significantly better on cognitive tests if they had regularly drunk coffee over their lifetimes. [10]
[edit] Analgesic enhancement
Coffee contains caffeine, which increases the effectiveness of pain killers, especially migraine and headache medications.[11] For this reason, many over-the-counter headache drugs include caffeine in their formula.
[edit] Antidiabetic
Coffee intake may reduce ones risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 by up to half. While this was originally noticed in patients who consumed high amounts (7 cups a day), the relationship was later shown to be linear.[12]
[edit] Liver disease
Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver[13] and has been linked to a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary liver cancer that usually arises in patients with preexisting cirrhosis.[14] The exact mechanism and the amount of coffee needed to achieve a beneficial effect are as yet unclear.[15]
[edit] Cancer
Coffee consumption is also correlated to a reduced risk of oral, esophageal, and pharyngeal cancer.[16][17] In ovarian cancer, no benefit was found.[18] In the Nurses Health Study, a modest reduction in breast cancer was observed in postmenopausal women only, which was not confirmed in decaffeinated coffee.[19]
[edit] Cardioprotective
Coffee reduces the incidence of heart disease, though whether this is simply because it rids the blood of excess lipids or because of its stimulant effect is unknown.[citation needed]
[edit] Laxative/diuretic
Coffee is also a powerful stimulant for peristalsis and is sometimes considered to prevent constipation; it is also a diuretic. However, coffee can also cause loose bowel movements.
Practitioners in alternative medicine often recommend coffee enemas for “cleansing of the colon” due to its stimulus of peristalsis, although mainstream medicine has not proved any benefits of the practice.
[edit] Antioxidant
Coffee contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium. This compound is not present in significant amounts in other food materials. Methylpyridinium is not present in raw coffee beans but is formed during the roasting process from trigonelline, which is common in raw coffee beans. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee.[20]