Good News for Coffee Drinkers

Coffee, long known as the drink of choice for college students cramming for that final exam and those cursed to arise early in the morning, may be better for you than you think.

Trailing coffee and black tea are bananas, dried beans and corn. A study recently released from lead author, University of Scranton in Pennsylvania chemistry professor, Joe Vinson, shows coffee to hold the lead in anti-oxidant absorption against long-time contender black tea.

This study shows people absorb the highest amount of anti-oxidants from coffee. Usually found in fruits and vegetables, anti-oxidants help to rid the body of free radicals, which cause cancers and heart disease. Anti-oxidants are known for their anti-cancer and anti-aging properties as well as aiding in protection against heart disease.

Other studies have shown moderate (2-4 cups per day) coffee drinkers lower their risk for certain kinds of cancers as well as six 8-ounce cups of coffee cut the risk of type-2 diabetes as much as 30%.

Coffee only contains a few types of anti-oxidants while fruits and vegetables contain a variety, which is most beneficial to the human body. However, before you go out and buy stock in your local coffee shop, there's no reason to start calling coffee a new health food.

In addition some studies link heavy coffee drinking with reduced fertility, other studies show an increase in LDL-cholesterol (the 'harmful' kind). To what degree this actually contribute to heart attacks is a matter of debate.

People drinking four or more cups per day also have twice the risk of urinary incontinence and women drinking coffee seem to lose more calcium and tend to have less dense bones than non-caffeine drinkers.

Bon cafetite! All in all most agree that the benefits - at least at moderate consumption levels - outweigh the risks.

And You Thought Coffee Was Bad for You!

I am sure that if you are a coffee enthusiast, you have heard this, but if not let me state it here. "Coffee is good for you!"

"Coffee is good for you!"

Recent research has shown that coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet. Antioxidants, are nutrients that are responsible from protecting your body's cells from being destroyed by toxins. This destruction has been linked to an increased risk of certain medical conditions, such as cancer, heart disease and others.

Antioxidants are found in the good stuff that our mothers made us eat when we were little, namely fruits & veggies. Amazingly, many of us didn't listen and took up coffee instead because more Americans get their daily dose of antioxidants from coffee than from broccoli!

The top 10 list for the the source of antioxidants in the Americandiet were listed as follows:

1. Coffee 2. Black Tea 3. Bananas 4. Dried Beans 5. Corn 6. Red Wine 7. Beer 8. Apples 9. Tomatoes 10.Potatoes

Research also showed that there was esentially no difference between the amount of antioxidants in regular versus decaf coffees.

Now this doesn't mean that you should run out and consume mass amounts of coffee. Like everything in life, moderation is the key!

And by the way, you should still eat your fruits and veggies, just finish them off with a great cup of coffee!

Check out more coffee tips and science at the coffee facts & fiction section of our website, WeBeJava.com

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Coffee Or Sleep? What's Better For Work Productivity?

Which of the following provides greater value:

3.5 hours of productive work 4 hours of unproductive work 2. 1.

If you are like most people you would choose the second option, 3.5 hours of productive work.

Catching an employee sleeping is normally a cause for immediate dismissal. After lunch naps have been stigmatized as a sign of weakness and energy is a sign of strength. Most work places do not provide the facilities to take a nap. But how do you sleep if you're at work? To be productive you need to get enough sleep.

So instead of having a cup of coffee when you feel fatigued after lunch, a short nap instead would do wonders. But, recent scientific studies have shown that we tend to feel sleepy between the hours of 2 pm and 4 pm and that a 15 to 30 minute "power nap" can increase our energy, alertness, and productivity.

For employers, providing facilities for afternoon naps or "mini siestas" will increase your employees' productivity, make them healthier, more alert, and happier. It is a win-win situation for all parties involved.

Lack of sleep is a major problem in today's society. The health risks are extensive. Among other things, lack of sleep increases stress; stress can increase blood pressure, heart disease, migraines, eczema, psoriasis, and can cause sexual problems. An unhealthy employee is a bad employee.

So, if you are a manager or business leader what do you do? Provide napping facilities for your employees and watch your company's productivity soar. Forget about the coffee machines; provide a few beds. Don't be afraid of change. Do what's right. You might lose 20 minutes of actual work time but the after nap time will be so much more productive that you won't even notice.

Take a 15 to 30 minute nap and the remaining 3.5 hours will be more productive. 4 hours of work time left after lunch.

Coffee - It Isn't All Bad!

While the jury may be out, here are some findings that indicate coffee is not all bad. is coffee good or bad for your health? The debate has raged for many years, and it will probably continue for years...

However a recent study by researchers at the Harvard University School of Public Health found no significant increase in the risk of heart disease or stroke among men who drank up to four cups of coffee a day - a finding supported by the Kaiser Permanente health care organization in California. The medical fraternity have long suspected that coffee drinking might therefore contribute to higher rates of heart disease. Coffee, as we all know, is high in caffeine, and caffeine is suspected of increasing blood pressure and heart rate.

That's a lot of coffee! The same outcome was found in women where data collected from more than 85,000 women over a 10-year period produced no evidence for any positive association between coffee consumption and risk of heart disease for women consuming six or more cups of coffee a day.

Two studies found that three or more cups of coffee a day! Caffeine also has a beneficial effect on asthma by reducing the severity of attacks. Caffeine also has a beneficial effect on alertness and improved performance in a variety of tasks. Caffeine also has a beneficial effect on alertness and improved performance in a variety of tasks. Caffeine also has a beneficial effect on alertness and improved performance in a variety of tasks. A study in 1993 clearly demonstrated that caffeinated coffee had a beneficial effect on alertness and improved performance in a variety of tasks. In fact, caffeine can increase the speed of rapid information processing by 10%. Caffeine does excite brain cells, and this in turn improves concentration and reaction time and reduces fatigue. This is not to say that there aren't physical effects to coffee drinking.

Further research into the possibility that coffee drinking may decrease depression is certainly needed. Two independent studies noted a significant inverse association between coffee drinking and the risk of suicide. Interestingly, it has been found that increased activity, alertness and efficiency are associated with a decline in levels of depression and anxiety.

Although, caffeine is often singled out as the chemical in coffee that has the most impact on our health, coffee has a complex chemical composition. One beneficial characteristic of coffee is that it contains compounds with antioxidant properties. Polyphenolic compounds known as flavonoids are common in plants and are known to have disease suppression benefits. What is most interesting is that the roasting process increases antioxidant activity in the beans. Although the beneficial role of food antioxidants is a relatively new research area, this is likely to become more important in years to come.

Yet too much caffeine can lead to irritability and restlessness along with an increase in urination. Talking of this, kidney stones are extremely painful and in a study of some 45,000 men with no history of kidney stones it was found that increased consumption of regular and decaffeinated coffee, tea, beer and wine were linked with a decreased risk of stone formation. The same effect was found in a study involving 81,000 women where caffeinated coffee and wine were found to be significantly more effective than water in helping women avoid kidney stones.

Coffee also has several metabolic effects that could reduce the risk of gallstone formation. According to a study conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), drinking coffee is associated with a 40 percent lower risk of gallstone disease in men. Men who drank four or more cups of regular coffee per day had a 45 percent lower risk profile.

The link between coffee and cancer is probably more weighted in favour of coffee. Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the United States, with some 131,000 Americans being diagnosed with cancers of the rectum and colon on an annual basis. Now there is some convincing evidence for a protective effect of coffee against the development of colon cancers. A recent review of over 15 studies on coffee consumption and colorectal cancer from 1960 to 1990 found the risk of colorectal cancer to be 24% lower among those who drink four or more cups of coffee per day, than among those who rarely or never drink coffee. Researchers in Sweden also found that "…coffee consumption appears to be protective against colon cancer, and tea against rectal tumors". The most likely explanation for lower risk of colorectal cancer among heavy coffee consumers is the enhanced colonic activity induced by coffee, and the inhibition effect on the cancer-causing effects of various micro-organisms by anti-mutagenic components in coffee and caffeine.

Coffee is also commonly used to "lift" hangovers and to get going "the morning after". However it might be more useful to drink it before having the party…as in the past decade, research in the United States, Japan and Italy has shown that the consumption of coffee has a strong protective effect against cirrhosis of the liver. Drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day was associated with an 80% reduction in risk for cirrhosis of the liver, compared with those who don't drink coffee at all.

On the subject of losing brain cells, Parkinson 's disease, a progressive nervous disease occurring generally after age 50, destroys brain cells that produce dopamine and is characterized by muscular tremor, slowing of movement, weakness and facial paralysis. Research into the relationship between caffeine consumption from a variety of sources and the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, has shown that moderate consumption of caffeine reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease in men and women.

In fact, men who drank four to five cups per day of caffeinated coffee cut the risk of developing Parkinson's disease nearly in half compared to men in the study who consumed little or no caffeine daily. Women who consumed between one and three cups of caffeinated coffee per day also cut their risk nearly in half of developing Parkinson's disease when compared to women who drank less than a cup of coffee per day - but this apparent benefit was lost at higher levels of intake.

Finally, while some people believe that coffee can induce acid reflux, recent research has found that coffee consumption has no effect whatever at inducing heartburn in healthy people. Even for those individuals with gastro-oesophageal reflux disease, coffee consumption was found to have only a minimal effect.

So, enjoy your three to four cups of coffee a day...on average you'll be just fine! Indeed, many studies identifying beneficial effects also noted the loss of these effects at high consumption rates. Probably not...in moderation. Is coffee all that bad?