That's the latest in a string of reports on the subject backing up the argument for coffee from a review of the research at the Journal of American Medicine as reported in the NY Times:
Coffee as a Health Drink? Studies Find Some Benefits
Coffee is not usually thought of as health food, but a number of recent studies suggest that it can be a highly beneficial drink. Researchers have found strong evidence that coffee reduces the risk of several serious ailments, including diabetes, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver.
This is good news for me. I tried several times to break the habit, making the assumption that because it contains a drug, it's addictive, it stains the teeth, it costs a lot of money (I'm a diehard Starbucks loyalist), it causes occasional heart palpitations, so it must be bad for me. But I've been drinking it for so long I don't think it's possible to quit.
Last time I tried the headaches lasted for weeks. I started the cold turkey during the summer and it lasted most of those two months, and I never felt "normal" in all that time. My exercise routine went out the window - I had incredible fatigue and irritability among other things. Turns out I really tortured myself for nothing.
I may be an extreme case. I remember drinking coffee for breakfast at a pretty early age, in fact I don't remember ever not drinking coffee, so I started young enough that I have no memory of that first cup or taste. In addition, I grew up in North Carolina and Mountain Dew (loaded with caffeine) was my beverage of choice when it wasn't sweet southern iced tea by the pitcher. My brain is probably physically incapable of recovering. Here's a quick summary of caffeine's effect on the functioning of the brain.
Adenosine is a neuromodulator. When it binds with adenosine receptors on pre-synaptic neurons, it inhibits neuron activity by inhibiting the release of excitatory neurotransmitters. The effect is generally to shut down neural activity giving the neurons a "break." This down time is believed to be an important part of normal brain functioning. So caffeine comes along and binds antagonistically to adenosine receptors (it binds to the receptor without triggering the normal action of the native substance). The presynaptic neurons therefore continue releasing excitatory neurotransmitter and the neurons remain in an active state. The stimulant effect of caffeine lies in its ability to inhibit inhibition. The neurons respond by adding more adenosine receptors (tolerance increases), which means that when the caffeine is removed from the system, an increase level of inhibition of neural activity will occur due to the increase in adenosine receptors - that's the fatigue and other symptoms of withdrawal that lead to craving another cup. Caffeine addiction lies almost entirely in the drive to overcome the negative effects of withdrawal. There are many other effects of caffeine on the functions of the brain (many of them secondary effects of binding to adenosine receptors) and other parts of the body.
There are a few caveats in the studies. There is some evidence that in certain circumstances coffee can decrease blood flow to the heart (during exercise at high altitudes) and in some individuals increase blood pressure. Still, the conclusion:
"I wouldn't advise people to increase their consumption of coffee in order to lower their risk of disease," Dr. van Dam said, "but the evidence is that for most people without specific conditions, coffee is not detrimental to health. If people enjoy drinking it, it's comforting to know that they don't have to be afraid of negative health effects."
References:
Caffeine & Its Physiological Effects
No comments:
Post a Comment