Coffee and health

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Coffee is consumed in large part not simply because of taste, but because of the effect it has on those who drink it. The coffee bean itself contains chemicals which are mind-altering (in a way some find pleasing) for humans as a by-product of their defense mechanism. These chemicals are toxic in large doses, or even in their normal amount when consumed by many creatures which may otherwise have threatened the beans in the wild.

1 Coffee as a stimulant
2 Benefits
3 Risks
4 References

[edit] Coffee as a stimulant

Coffee contains caffeine, which acts as a stimulant. For this reason, it is often consumed in the morning and during working hours. Students preparing for examinations with late-night "cram sessions" use coffee to maintain their concentration. Many office workers take a "coffee break" when their energy is diminished.

Recent research has uncovered additional stimulating effects of coffee which are not related to its caffeine content. Coffee contains an as yet unknown chemical agent which stimulates the production of cortisone and adrenaline, two stimulating hormones.^[1]

For occasions when one wants to enjoy the flavor of coffee with almost no stimulation, decaffeinated coffee (also called decaf) is available. This is coffee from which most of the caffeine has been removed, by the Swiss water process (which involves the soaking of raw beans to absorb the caffeine) or the use of a chemical solvent such as trichloroethylene ("tri"), or the more popular methylene chloride, in a similar process. Another solvent used is ethyl acetate; the resultant decaffeinated coffee is marketed as "natural decaf" due to ethyl acetate being naturally present in fruit. Extraction with supercritical carbon dioxide has also been employed.

Decaffeinated coffee usually loses some flavor over normal coffees and tends to be more bitter. There are also coffee alternatives that resemble coffee in taste but contain no caffeine (see below). These are available both in ground form for brewing and in instant form.

Caffeine dependency and withdrawal symptoms are well-documented; see Caffeine for more on the pharmacological effects of caffeine.

[edit] Benefits

[edit] Analgesic

Coffee contains caffeine, which increases the effectiveness of pain killers, especially migraine and headache medications. For this reason some aspirin producers also include a small dose of caffeine in the pill. Some of the beneficial effects may be restricted to one sex, for instance it has been shown to reduce the occurrence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in men.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Antidiabetic

Coffee intake may reduce one's 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.^[2]

[edit] Antineoplastic

Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver^[3] and has been linked to a reduced risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary liver cancer.^[4]

Study results published in 2005 showed that for Americans, who as a whole do not consume large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee represents by far the largest source of valuable antioxidants in the diet.^[5]

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 trigonellin, which is common in raw coffee beans. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee.^[6]

[edit] Cardioprotective

Also, 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.

[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.

[edit] Memory

Many people drink coffee for its ability to increase short term recall and increase IQ^[7]. It also changes the metabolism of a person so that their body burns a higher proportion of lipids to carbohydrates, which can help athletes avoid muscle fatigue.^{[citation needed]}

Some of these health effects are realized by as little as 4 cups a day (32 U.S. fl oz, .95 L), but others occur at 5 or more cups a day (40 U.S. fl oz or 1.18 L or more).

Some controversy over these effects exists, as coffee consumption is often associated with other more negative behavioral variables. Therefore it has been variously suggested that the cognitive effects of caffeine are limited to those who have not developed a tolerance or to those who have developed a tolerance and are temporarily caffeine-deprived, suggesting that drinking in cycles could be necessary to achieve some effects.

[edit] Coffee enemas

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] Risks

Many notable effects of coffee are related to its caffeine content. Amongst other known negative health associations it is not clear whether these are due to the caffeine or other unidentified compounds (suggesting that these may be modified by switching to decaffeinated coffee).

[edit] Anxiety and sleep

Many coffee drinkers are familiar with "coffee jitters", a nervous condition that occurs when one has had too much caffeine. It can also cause anxiety and irritability, in some with excessive coffee consumption, and some as a withdrawal symptom. Coffee can also cause insomnia in some, while paradoxically it helps a few sleep more soundly.

[edit] Cosmetic

Like tea, coffee also causes staining of the teeth. The best way to avoid this is to brush after every cup of coffee.

[edit] Blood pressure

A recent study by Harvard Med that set out to prove that the caffeine in coffee would put people at risk for high blood pressure ended up rejecting the theory. 155,000 nurses were followed for 12 years and the results showed that large amounts of coffee did not induce a "risky rise in blood pressure"^[8]. As a note, this study did not include men.

[edit] Pregnancy and menopause

A February 2003 Danish study of 18,478 women linked heavy coffee consumption during pregnancy to significantly increased risk of stillbirths (but no significantly increased risk of infant death in the first year). "The results seem to indicate a threshold effect around four to seven cups per day," the study reported. Those who drank eight or more cups a day (64 U.S. fl oz or 1.89 L) were at 220% increased risk compared with nondrinkers. This study has not yet been repeated, but has caused some doctors to caution against excessive coffee consumption during pregnancy.^[9]

There are also gender-specific effects: in some PMS sufferers it increases the symptoms; it can reduce fertility in women; it may increase the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women; and there may be risks to a fetus if a pregnant woman drinks 8 or more cups a day (48 U.S. fl oz or 1.4 L or more).

Decaffeinated coffee is occasionally regarded as a potential health risk to pregnant women, due to the high incidence of chemical solvents used to extract the caffeine. These concerns have almost no basis, however, as the solvents in question evaporate at 80–90 °C, and coffee beans are decaffeinated before roasting, which occurs at approximately 200 °C. As such, these chemicals, namely trichloroethane and methylene chloride, are present in trace amounts at most, and neither pose a significant threat to unborn children. Women still worried about chemical solvents in decaffeinated coffee should opt for beans which use the Swiss water process, where no chemicals other than water are used.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Coronary artery disease

A 2004 study tried to discover why the beneficial and detrimental effects of coffee conflict. The study concluded that consumption of coffee is associated with significant elevations in biochemical markers of inflammation. This is a detrimental effect of coffee on the cardiovascular system, which may explain why coffee has so far only been shown to help the heart at levels of four cups (20 fl oz or 600 mL) or fewer per day.^[10]

The health risks of decaffeinated coffee have been studied, with varying results. One variable is the type of decaffeination process used; while some involve the use of organic solvents which may leave residual traces, others rely on steam.^{[citation needed]}

A study has shown that cafestol, a substance which is present in boiled coffee drinks, dramatically increases cholesterol levels, especially in women. Filtered coffee contains only trace amounts of cafestol.

Polymorphisms in the CYP1A2 gene may lead to a slower metabolism of caffeine. In patients with a slow version of the enzyme the risk for myocardial infarction is increased by a third (2-3 cups) to two thirds (>4 cups). The risk was more marked in younger people.^[11]

A Harvard study over 20 years of 128,000 people published in 2006 concluded that there was no evidence to support the claim that coffee consumption itself increases the risk of coronary heart disease. The study did, however, show a correlation between heavy consumption of coffee and higher degrees of exposure to other coronary heart disease risk factors such as smoking, greater alcohol consumption, and lack of physical exercise.^[12] The results apply only to coffee filtered through paper filters, which excludes boiled coffee and espresso, for example. Additionally, the lead researcher on this study acknowledged that subsets of the larger group may be at risk for heart attack when drinking multiple cups of coffee a day due to genetic differences in metabolizing caffeine.^{[citation needed]}

The Iowa Women's Health Study showed that women who consumed coffee actually had less cardiovascular disease incidents and lower cancer rates than the general population. For women who drank 6 or more cups, the benefit was even greater. However, this study excluded 35% of its original participants who already had cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases when the study began. Since participants were all over the age of 55, no good conclusion can be drawn about the long term effect of coffee drinking on heart disease from this study.^[13]

[edit] References

^ Klag MJ, Wang NY, Meoni LA, Brancati FL, Cooper LA, Liang KY, Young JH, Ford DE. Coffee intake and risk of hypertension: the Johns Hopkins precursors study. Arch Intern Med 2002;162:657-62. PMID 11911719.
^ Salazar-Martinez E, Willet WC, Ascherio A, Manson JE, Leitzmann MF, Stampfer MJ, Hu FB. Coffee consumption and risk for type 2 diabetes mellitus. Ann Intern Med 2004;140:1-8. PMID 14706966.
^ Klatsky AL, Morton C, Udaltsova N, Friedman GD. Coffee, cirrhosis, and transaminase enzymes. Arch Intern Med 2006;166:1190-5. PMID 16772246.
^ Inoue M, Yoshimi I, Sobue T, Tsugane S; JPHC Study Group. Influence of coffee drinking on subsequent risk of hepatocellular carcinoma: a prospective study in Japan. J Natl Cancer Inst 2005;97:293-300. PMID 15713964.
^ http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/hsn/20050829/hl_hsn/anothercoffeeperkantioxidants
^ COFFEE CAN PREVENT COLON CANCER. The Naked Scientists. BBC (19 October 2003). Retrieved on 2006-11-17.
^ Koppelstaeter F, Siedentopf C, Poeppel T, Haala I, Ischebeck A, Mottaghy F. Influence of caffeine =excess on activation patterns in verbal working memory. Radiological Society of North America, 2005, abstract no LPR06-05 link.
^ William Cromie, "Coffee Gets Cleared of Blood Pressure Risk", Harvard Gazette. November 10th 2005 (accessed August 1 2006 at http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2005/11.10/06-coffee.html)
^ Wisborg K, Kesmodel U, Bech BH, Hedegaard M, Henriksen TB. Maternal consumption of coffee during pregnancy and stillbirth and infant death in first year of life: prospective study. BMJ 2003;326:420. PMID 12595379.
^ Zampelas A, Panagiotakos DB, Pitsavos C, Chrysohoou C, Stefanadis C. Associations between coffee consumption and inflammatory markers in healthy persons: the ATTICA study. Am J Clin Nutr 2004;80:862-7. PMID 15447891.
^ Cornelis MC, El-Sohemy A, Kabagambe EK, Campos H. Coffee, CYP1A2 genotype, and risk of myocardial infarction. JAMA. 2006 Mar 8;295(10):1135-41. PMID 16522833.
^ Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Willett WC, Rimm EB, Manson JE, Stampfer MJ, Rexrode KM, Hu FB. Coffee consumption and coronary heart disease in men and women: a prospective cohort study. Circulation 2006;113:2045-53. PMID 16636169.
^ Andersen LF, Jacobs DR Jr, Carlsen MH, Blomhoff R. Consumption of coffee is associated with reduced risk of death attributed to inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2006;83:1039-46. PMID 16685044.