Coffee shops are one of the fastest growing businesses. Leading the high demand for coffee is the United States with 400 million cups of coffee consumed by Americans per day. 14 billion coffee espressos are consumed in Italy each year. So, there is no doubt that coffee is popular, but, is coffee healthy?
Well, while reading the literature below, there does not seem to be a clear cut answer to that question. So, we’ll address the good and the bad. First, there are some potential health concerns for coffee drinkers. On the flip side, if used in moderation or in certain circumstances, coffee can have health benefits. So, let’s find out about these concerns and benefits.
Health Problems Related to Coffee and Caffeine
The caffeine in coffee is a nervous system stimulant, which causes body to produce adrenaline. Adrenaline is the hormone that regulates heart rate, blood pressure and respiration. It is the adrenaline rush from caffeine that gives coffee drinkers the extra “go” to keep up with the heavy demands of their busy lifestyles. Becoming dependant on this adrenaline rush is part of what makes coffee and caffeine addictive. Adrenal Fatigue can result from over-consumption of coffee. This is when your adrenal glands become exhausted from over-stimulation. Our adrenals are necessary for producing hormones, which directly influences the operation of other body systems. If the adrenals become depleted and can no longer keep up with the energy demands, than our health may suffer and which makes our body like a car without fuel or a car that has just gone head on into a rock wall.
Coffee is very acidic with over 200 different acids including uric acid from the breakdown of caffeine. Many health problems such as arthritis arise in the body when it is acidic.
Mineral deficiency can arise from the over-consumption of coffee. Some nutrients are blocked from absorption and excessively secreted through urination with the consumption of coffee. Necessary minerals for the body such as magnesium, calcium, potassium, iron and other trace minerals are at risk of depletion for those who drink coffee.
Health Symptoms that Can Arise from Over-Consumption of Coffee and Caffeine
- Fatigue
- Anxiety, nervousness, irritability
- Irritable bowel syndrome, colitis, diarrhea and other digestive ailments
- Yeast overgrowth, candidiasis
- Hypoglycemia, diabetes
- Dizziness
- Gout
- Heart palpitations or other heart disorders
- High blood pressure
- High cholesterol
- Insomnia
- Heartburn
- Liver and gallbladder problems
- Bladder and kidney disorders
- Headaches or migraines
- Ulcers, stomach problems
- Osteoporosis
- Hormone imbalance
- Severe menopause symptoms
- Skin eruptions, rashes, acne, eczema
- Urinary tract infections
- Weight gain
- Fibrocystic breast disease
- Infertility
- Miscarriage
- Low baby birth weight
- Enlarged prostate
- Arthritis
- Fibromyalgia
- Memory lapse
- Moodiness
- Lack of concentration
Okay now let’s see the other side of drinking coffee. What if there are any benefits?
If coffee and caffeine consumption is kept to a minimum and not abused, there are some potential health benefits. Some studies suggest that many people can safely drink one to two cups of coffee per day.
Potential Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee
- In some studies caffeine has shown to improve focus and memory.
- Coffee and caffeine has been documented to assist athletes in performance and overcoming fatigue.
- Coffee consumption helps regulate bowel function.
- Coffee contains antioxidants, which are highly beneficial to our body for fighting free radicals.
- In some studies, coffee has shown promise in lowering the risk of Parkinson’s disease.
Ultimately, whether coffee is healthy or not comes down to your own personal body and how sensitive or not you are to its affects.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Hoffman
"HAVE A CUPPA" 
Like your post states one to two cups a day seems okay, but caffeine is a drug so if pregnant I wouldn’t drink it at all, tea either.
Hey man, nice topic to focus on, you know to me coffee it used to be the vital role on my life since I have recently quitted the smoking and I really was looking for some thing as the replacement of the cigarettes, and I tended to the coffee and as my class mates remember I used to drink 12-15 cups of black coffee a day, but with the motivation that my friends gave me I could reduce it and just limit it to 5 cups a day and as the advantage of it I can see the less headache and also the fully 8 hours sleeping during the day which was not even in my dreams during those days;)
A cup of coffee, depending on the strength, may contain some 20-100mg of caffeine. Some types of coffee may also contain significant amounts of the B-vitamin niacin, although this nutrient is of course readily available from other foods as well. Caffeine-containing tablets or medications should not be taken as well as cups of coffee or tea, since this would increase the true dosage. The effects of caffeine vary from person to person; some individuals can drink several cups of coffee in an hour and notice no effects, while others may feel a strong effect after just one serving. Caffeine is prohibited for competition athletes.
People who wish to avoid or minimise caffeine intake (see below) often use decaffeinated coffee, or coffee substitutes. One method of decaffeination is by treating the green beans (before roasting) with chlorinated hydrocarbon solvents; other methods are also used. Important coffee substitutes are chicory, and roasted cereals such as barley; although these are commonly used not as total substitutes but as “extenders”. Under U.S. law, the addition of chicory or any other substance must be clearly stated on the label.
As already mentioned, some potentially harmful effects of coffee are recognized, particularly for people who should take few or no stimulants. Beyond this however, scientific studies of the effects of caffeine have in general failed to prove negative effects, although some have produced contradictory conclusions. An individual study may produce interesting results which may suggest fruitful directions for further research, but usually it is only when several independent studies confirm one another, and any contradictory results can be accounted for, that one can have reasonable confidence in the safety of a drug — particularly an ” optional” one like coffee.
Although caffeine does not fall into the class of “addictive” drugs, it may be habit-forming. Some people may experience headache, fatigue, irritability and nervousness when their daily intake of caffeine is quickly and substantially altered.
Such “withdrawal effects” may be responsible for confusing results in some studies. There are many complicating factors in long-term studies. One is the familiar “convergence of risk-factors” (e.g. that coffee-drinkers may be more likely to be smokers). Another is that many of the study subjects may deliberately change (or have previously changed) their consumption habits or behaviour, e.g. in response to discovering that they suffer from hypertension. There may also be significant differences in methods of coffee preparation between study populations, or over long periods of time.
Moderate caffeine consumption during pregnancy is generally considered safe. A study has not found any effect on low birth-weight or incidence of premature births. However, although it has been suggested that caffeine may stimulate milk production, cautious mothers may prefer to avoid such beverages during pregnancy or while breastfeeding.
Furthermore, a large study has not shown any connection of coffee or tea consumption with breast-cancer incidence. Osteoporosis is another condition which particularly affects women. Previous studies have suggested caffeine consumption as a risk-factor, but a recent analysis concludes that such an effect is probably not significant except in conditions of calcium-deficiency, which can be easily corrected.
There is even some actual positive news. The effect of caffeine on the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease, which usually affects older people, has been found to be favourable for men. For women, previous results have been confusing; but a recent study suggests that a crucial factor may be the effect of hormone levels. Often caffeine may have a favourable effect against developing this disease; but when combined with hormone replacement therapy (HRT), it may have a negative one.
One study has found (for women) a strong inverse association between coffee intake and risk of suicide. However, even if confirmed, to determine whether this might be actual cause and effect is, as usual, a much more challenging problem.
http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/41coffee.php
Personally, I do not like coffee because I do not like its taste. For some people surrounding me, coffee is really necessary for their daily life. If they do not drink coffee it will give problem for them such as feel sleepy or hard to concentrate with their job. So in my opinion coffee is not good because it makes you addicted.
Coffee is never a good thing for our health. Although coffee could harm our health, but we prevent it by not over drink it. For me, coffee is something that could not be eliminate in my life. I drink coffee while i am doing my course work, while i am eating and even when i am giving comment on your blog. Coffee is something that can easily addicted because of the caffeine.
Since I am learning about coffee, I do know more or less that black coffee has more caffeine compared to a Latte or a ice blended because in Latte and ice blended, the amount of coffee is lesser than a brewed coffees. I would say until what extend the level of coffee is. There are people who get headache by just smelling the aroma of the coffee. What more with all types of diseases. Only a certain amount of coffee is needed to keep a person awake. Nevertheless, with excess of it would harm the health.
There are 3 things worth living for: coffee, books and…..ummmm….another cup of coffee!
Just a little dose of coffee is sufficient, but i’m not a fan of coffee, because its way bad for the health than people think. A pint of guiness stout would be OK!
I have no idea about coffee,Personally i like tea more than coffee in my opinion tea is more health than coffee .
What I can’t live without, coffee. Recently I’ve toned down my caffeine intake, for moderation’s sake, but I still need to start off every day with a good, well-brewed cup of Good Morning. There’s nothing better on a quiet, weekend morning than sitting down with a big, beautiful cup of coffee some good tunes, and a good book. I think I’ll do just that right now. Have I forgotten a crucial coffee tip?
Coffee has a long history of being blamed for many ills — from the humorous “It will stunt your growth” to the not-so-humorous claim that it causes heart disease and cancer. But some recent research indicates that coffee may not be so bad after all. So which is it — good or bad for your health? The best answer may be: It doesn’t seem to hurt, and it may help.
To get an idea of where the confusion comes from, consider two recent studies. A study of 128,000 men and women showed no increase in the risk of heart disease from drinking filtered coffee. The findings of the study — which published in May 2006 in the journal Circulation — indicated that it didn’t matter how much coffee participants drank.
Another study of 4,000 coffee drinkers published in March 2006 in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that two or more cups of coffee a day can increase the risk of heart disease in people with a specific — and fairly common — genetic mutation that slows the breakdown of caffeine in the body.
The design of a study can have some effect on the interpretation of results, which may be another reason for the different conclusions. Overall, given the research reviewed it would be reasonable to conclude that coffee poses little or no threat to healthy adults.
But this doesn’t mean you should disregard the old maxim, “Everything in moderation.” Although coffee may not be harmful, other beverages such as milk and juice contain important nutrients that coffee does not. Also, keep in mind that there’s a difference between plain, black coffee and specialty coffees, such as lattes, and coffee with large amounts of cream, sugar and other accompaniments that add calories and fat. And don’t forget about the caffeine. For most people, the caffeine in two to three cups of brewed coffee (roughly 200 to 300 milligrams) isn’t harmful. However, heavy daily caffeine use — such as in four to seven cups of coffee — can cause problems such as restlessness, anxiety, irritability, sleeplessness, headaches and other health problems.
Regarding other health effects of coffee, some evidence suggests that drinking coffee may protect against type 2 diabetes and colon cancer. But there is much more evidence of a protective effect from fruits, vegetables and whole grains than from coffee.
Taken from:(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/coffee-and-health/AN01354)
Plagiarism srikanth…plagiarism….!!!
Nimesh, coffee truly is a “good drink”, but studies are contradictory as to whether coffee has any specific health benefits, and results are similarly conflicting with respect to negative effects of coffee consumption. In addition, it is often unclear whether these risks or benefits are linked to caffeine or whether they are to be attributed to other chemical substances found in coffee. However, like it or not, coffee is and will be consumed by the public…because it is simply GooOooD…
Well some people say this and some say that but i think i found the answer for all. PLEASE CLICK ON THIS LINK BELOW AND WATCH THIS VIDEO I TRIED TO UPLOAD IT COULD NOT.
link:
http://www.docshop.com/video/docshoptv/player/19469-coffee-and-your-health
Coffee contains a complex mixture of chemical compounds. Some components, particularly those related to the aroma, are produced during roasting of the green beans. The substances which during “brewing” dissolve in water to form the beverage are classified as nonvolatile taste components (including caffeine, trigonelline, chlorogenic acid, phenolic acids, amino acids, carbohydrates, and minerals) and volatile aroma components including organic acids, aldehydes, ketones, esters, amines, and mercaptans.
The major physiologically active substance in coffee is the alkaloid caffeine (C_8 H_10 O_2 N_4•H_2 O), also called guaranine or methyltheobromine, which acts as a mild stimulant. Caffeine is a naturally occurring substance found in the leaves, seeds or fruits of more than 60 plants, including coffee and cocoa beans, cola nuts and tea leaves. These are used to make beverages such as coffee, tea and cola drinks, and foods such as chocolate.
http://www.anti-aging-guide.com/41coffee.php
Is coffee healthy?In my opinion, coffee is not healthy but it is not harmful in short term.However,from your article,I can see that the disadvantages of drinking coffee is more than the benefits.Therefore, drinking coffee too much may have side – effects but it only can be seen after long term.Having a cup of coffee a day it’s alright but having 5-8 cups of coffee a day is not healthy.
However, Large quantities of coffee seem to help at preventing diabetes.Scientists have discovered that the persons who drink four to six cups of coffee per day have a 28% lower chance of developing diabetes than persons who drink only 2 cups or less daily. Studies have shown that person who drink more than six cups of coffee daily have a 35% lower chance of suffering of diabetes later in their life.
http://articles.widbox.com/40-does_drinking_coffee_bring_advantages_or_disadvantages_to_your_health_.html
Still, drinking coffee to protect ourselves from diseases like type 2 diabetes or colon cancer??It is more effective when we eat healthy food like fruits, vegetables and drink natural juices and milk rather than we drink coffee.Moreover, if is in that case,we should control and always alert with sugar level that is in our food and drink.