Addictive Drug Or A Healthy Habit? .The Truth About Coffee.
#1 The Truth About Coffee
The coffee research out there is confusing. Remember when coffee stunted your growth and messed with your heart? Now it cures cancer and helps you live longer. They can't both be true at the same time, can they? We've laid out all of coffees benefits and myths to find out just how good or bad it is for you.
#2 Coffee Is a Drug
Just because you can buy it in a store doesn't mean it's not a drug. Coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a psychoactive chemical. Alcohol, marijuana and cocaine also share that distinction. They all mess around with your brain chemistry to change your mood, cognition and behavior. But, as it turns out, this drug may have more positives than negatives.
#3 Coffee Fights Cancer
Coffee reduces the risk of certain kinds of cancer. Regular drinkers have a lower risk of oral, esophageal, and pharyngeal cancer. Other types of cancers don't get the same benefit. Coffee has no effect on breast, endometrial or ovarian cancer. But some cancer protection is better than none at all.
#4 Caffeine Makes Painkillers Work Faster
Can't wait for your pain medication to kick in? Take it with a cup of coffee. Caffeine helps your stomach absorb the medication more quickly. In fact, many pain killers contain some caffeine. If you have a migraine, caffeine will do its own part in relieving your symptoms. It affects the cerebral blood vessels responsible for your pain.
#5 Heart Problems and Coffee Don't Mix
Caffeine temporarily increases your heart rate. There's a slim chance that boost will cause a cardiac event. It's not very likely but there's a risk. To be better safe than sorry, talk to your doctor. It may be time to get your kicks from another beverage.
#6 Cold Turkey Comes with Consequences
Coffee is a benevolent mistress. But she can be cruel. Turn your back on her and she'll punish you. Quitting cold turkey comes with withdrawal symptoms. Be prepared to feel drowsy or even develop a headache. Luckily the symptoms are mild. In a few days, they'll be gone -- if you can survive without coffee for that long.
#7 Coffee Doesn't Dehydrate You
That's a common myth. Coffee does make you go to the bathroom more often. But the liquid in the coffee replaces your fluids. So it's perfectly safe to caffeinated before a workout. If you still feel parched, cut back on the sugar. It slows your rehydration and makes you crave water.
#8 Caffeine Makes You A Better Athelete
In fact, until very recently caffeine was banned from professional sports. Athletes performing in the Olympics had to cut back. Otherwise the International Olympic Committee would disqualify them. That's because it makes you go faster, stronger and longer. Drink a cup of coffee, wait and hour and you'll find that your performance is much better than usual.
#9 Caffeine Fights Headaches
Caffeine is a natural headache cure. In fact, it's the active ingredient in many headache medications. A cup of coffee has as much caffeine as a tablet as Excedrin. If you don't like taking pills, try a cup of coffee instead. It tastes better. Plus it will give you an energy boost you can use once you're headache is gone.
#10 Coffee Fights Diabetes
Take too much sugar in your coffee? You may not be doing as much damage as you think. As it turns out, coffee reduces your risk of developing diabetes. But if your spoon stands up in the cup, you could be counteracting the positive effects. Consider taking it black. Or try on an artificial sweetener for size.
#11 Coffee Gives You a Short-Term Performance Boost
Drink a cup and your brain goes into overdrive. Your short term memory improves. You have better reaction time and cognitive function. You even perform better on tests. But the effects are only short term. Fortunately, all you have to do to reproduce the results is to have another cup. Regular coffee drinkers perform better than their non-coffee drinking counterparts.
#12 Coffee Fights off Parkinson's Disease
Drink at least 3.5 cups of coffee a day? A new study found that you're less likely to develop Parkinson's disease. The more coffee you drink the better. The benefits are directly proportional to the amount you drink. And the earlier you start drinking the better. So if you're on the fence about trying your first cup of joe, it may be time to give it a try.
#13 Coffee Breaks up Gallstones
If these painful things run in your family, coffee can provide some relief. A recent study by the Harvard School of Public Health found that just one cup a day reduces your risks of developing stones. Doctors aren't sure exactly how you reap the benefits. But they know it has something to do with the caffeine. Decaffeinated coffee drinkers have the same risk of developing gallstones as anyone else.
#14 Coffee Keeps Your Mind Sharp
Regular coffee drinkers have less chance of developing Alzheimer's or dementia. But you have to be a moderate drinker to reap the benefits. People who get down 3 to 5 cups per day enjoy a reduced risk. Anything under two cups and you're no better off than everyone else. So feel free to turn on the pot for a second time if memory loss runs in your family.
#15 Coffee is Better for Women
Coffee keeps women healthier than men. The more cups of coffee a woman drinks a day, the more likely she is to outlive her non-caffeinated counterparts. Men who drink coffee are healthier than their non-coffee drinking counterparts -- but not by much. One cup a day gives men and added benefit, but they don't get healthier the more they drink like women do.
#16 Coffee Doesn't Cause Heart Disease or Cancer
Not only is coffee good for you, most of the bad stuff we thought we knew about it is wrong. Studies on the ill effects of coffee didn't take smoking and other risky behaviors into account. Now better data is in and the verdict is clear: coffee doesn't mess with your heart or give you tumors. That'll be a relief to all the addicts out there who thought they needed to give up the bean.
#17 Not Everyone Is Out of the Woods
Some people do risk developing heart disease from coffee. There's a genetic mutation that causes caffeine to break down more slowly in some people. Those with this mutation could increase their risk of heart diseases if they drink more than two cups a day. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell if you have the mutation unless you undergo testing. And there are other ways that coffee can effect you negatively.
#18 Coffee and Cholesterol
At risk for developing high cholesterol? Drink filtered coffee from now on. Unfiltered coffee slightly increases your risk of elevated cholesterol levels. That means no more munching on roasted coffee beans. Invest in a machine with a great filter and you should be fine.
#19 Caffeine Can Keep You Up
Have trouble sleeping? Check your coffee consumption before checking with your doctor. The extra caffeine may be keeping you up. Cutting coffee out of your diet may help you get sleep. Try switching to tea or decaf for a gentler caffeine boost.
#20 It's Better to Keep Drinking It
Caffeine has a lot of benefits. But to keep reaping those benefits, you have to keep drinking. The caffeine doesn't remain in your system long after you indulge. Banish coffee and you'll banish all of the benefits that come with it. So before you make a New Year's Resolution, think of what you'll be giving up.
