For decades, coffee has been perceived as something that causes negative effects in the body. In some cultures, coffee is similar to poison. Coffee and its main ingredient, caffeine, are believed to be the reason of some deadly diseases, such as myocardial infarction and cerebrovascular accidents.

Coffee is a beverage that comes from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant. There are several genuses of coffee plants, and their coffee beans produce various characteristics as it is brewed into a drink. Coffee is one of the top export commodities all over the world. It goes to show that despite the negative effects of coffee communicated throughout the world, people are still oblivious about it and would rather continue to take a sip of their favorite coffee drink.

These days, several researchers have disputed the ill-effects of coffee and argued that it has more health benefits than harmful effects in the human body. Moderate consumption of coffee, which is about 3-5 cups per day, produces several health benefits. Some of which are as follows:

• It Boosts Brain Power

  Caffeine in coffee has long been known to boost brain power. There are studies though that negates the correlation between coffee consumption and mental alertness. The study which was published in the journal called Neuropsychopharmacology, has concluded that there is no advantage in consuming coffee, although there is a feeling or an illusion that the beverage can cause alertness. But this study is also disputed by a research made in Bristol University that tested 64 men and women. The findings showed that men’s memory is impaired while performing a memory test after drinking a caffeinated coffee. Women, on the other hand, performed well when they ingested caffeine and began doing the puzzle work. In fact, they completed the puzzle faster after drinking caffeinated beverages, such as coffee.

• It Improves Mental Health

  In a study published by the American Academy of Neurology, women aged 65 years old and older who drank more than three cups of coffee daily, have their thinking skills well protected compared to those who only drank one cup or less every day. The research was done involving 7,000 people for four years. Their cognitive abilities and consumption of coffee was evaluated. The study also found out that as age increases, coffee drinkers are 30 percent less likely to have problems with memory retention by the time they are 65 years old. It rises to 70 percent at age 80, when they continue to consume three cups of coffee daily.

  Another study linked coffee consumption and the development of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases. For years, it was always consistently believed that increased coffee consumption can lead to decreased risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. For Alzheimer’s Disease, and its related complication, dementia, a study made in Finland and Sweden in 2009 has shown that those who drink 3-5 cups of coffee every day is 65 percent less probable in developing dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Those who drank less or not at all, their risk of developing the disease are higher, based on the 20 years study of the institution.

• It Lowers Stroke Risk

  A study was published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association which proves that the consumption of more than one cup of coffee every day will cause a 22-25 percent lower risk of developing stroke. In a study made on 34,670 women of varied circumstances, those who have low consumption of coffee or none at all have an increased risk of developing stroke. However, the study has not shown that the more the woman ingest coffee, the lower their percentage risk. It has shown, however, that the lesser the woman ingest coffee, the higher is her risk of developing a stroke. Another similar study was also conducted for male smokers. Those who ingested more than eight cups of coffee daily have lowered risk of having stroke than those who only have less than two cups every day.

  However, for those who already have already suffered a stroke, drinking coffee can trigger the rupture of the wall of the intracranial blood vessel that is affected by the disease. According to Monique H.M. Vlak, MD of the University of Medical Center in Utrecht, Netherlands, there is a 10.6 percent risk of subarachnoid hemorrhage if the person suffering from stroke consumes even a cup of coffee. This is due to the fact that coffee causes a sudden increase in the blood pressure, which is the common cause of aneurysmal rupture.

• It Helps Fights Cancer

  There are several studies trying to prove that coffee can help in fighting cancer. In Sweden, cancer researcher Helena Jernstrom and her colleagues conducted a study on the coffee drinking habits of several patients being treated in Lund University, for breast cancer. The result of the study has shown that the effects of coffee are dependent on the type of breast cancer variant of the gene, CYP1A2, the woman carries. For instance, if a woman has the C variant and is drinking three cups of coffee daily, she will less likely have cancer than those with the variant A/A. Another study has also shown that the risk of having breast cancer is not associated with the ingestion of coffee, or caffeine, daily. The hypothesis of the study includes the fact that caffeine can increase the risk of a woman getting breast cancer. But the study conducted by Ken Ishitani, MD, PhD of Brigham and Woman’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School resulted to a conclusion that consumption of beverages and foods containing caffeine does not affect the overall risk of acquiring breast cancer.

  For men, especially those who are concerned of acquiring prostate cancer, a study headed by the researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) has shown that regular coffee drinkers, whether caffeinated or decaffeinated, has a lower risk of developing prostate cancer that is considered lethal. Published in May 2011 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Lorelie Mucci, an associate professor of epidemiology in HSPH, explained that their study was the largest to be conducted that tries to answer the correlation of caffeine consumption and deadly prostate cancer. The findings have shown that those who consume the most number of cups daily had a 20% lesser risk of being diagnosed with prostate cancer in any form. For those who already have prostate cancer, men who consumed the most number of cups, have 60% lesser risk of developing a lethal form. Although other lifestyle elements may be related to increased cancer risk, coffee still proves that it lowers the risk of developing cancer.

• It Improves Mood

  There are evidences of studies that shows coffee can indeed enhance the mood of an individual. A study was made on coffee drinking individuals who were asked to withdraw coffee and those who do not drink coffee at all. Participants of the study were given controlled doses of beverages containing caffeine, particularly coffee, while some of them were given placebos. After 30 minutes of ingestion, they were assessed and evaluated using tests formulated by the Cognitive Drug Research. It showed that those who are habitual coffee consumers have an increase in mood levels; while those who are non-habitual coffee consumers had an increase in performance level. This indicates that coffee, when ingested moderately, has huge positive effects on the behavior, moods and the cognitive abilities of an individual.

Sources
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sciencedaily.com