Coffee consumption and your health. This sought after bean has some suprising health benefits.

A growing anatomy of research which shows that coffee drinkers, compared to nondrinkers, are:

1. less likely to have type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and dementia
2. have fewer cases of certain cancers, heart rhythm problems, and strokes


Researchers don't ask people to drink or skip coffee for science's sake. Instead, they ask them about their coffee habits. Those studies can't show cause and effect. It's possible that coffee drinkers have other advantages, such as better diets, more exercise, or protective genes.

There isn't solid proof. But there are signs of potential health perks.

If you're like the average American, who downed 416 8-ounce cups of coffee in 2009 (by the World Resources Institute's estimates), you might want to know what all that java is doing for you, or to you.

Here is the condition-by-condition look at the research.

Type 2 Diabetes

Dr. Hu of Harvard University calls the data on coffee and [type 2] diabetes "pretty solid," based on more than 15 published studies.

Dr. Frank Hu of Harvard University Medical School found that, among study participants, those who drank several cups of coffee per day were, on average, 35% less likely to have type 2 diabetes than those who reported drinking two cups of coffee or less every day. This is due to a combination of magnesium and chromium, two compounds found in coffee that help the body use insulin more effectively.

More recently, Australian researchers looked at 18 studies of nearly 458,000 people. They found a 7% drop in the odds of having type 2 diabetes for every additional cup of coffee drunk daily. There were similar risk reductions for decaf coffee drinkers and tea drinkers.

How is coffee a potential diabetes preventative?

Dr. Hu states that "it's a complete package". He indicates coffees antioxidants and nutrients help prevent tissue damage caused by molecules called oxygen-free radicals. “We know that coffee has a very strong antioxidant capacity," States Dr. Hu.

Coffee also contains minerals such as magnesium and chromium, which help the body use the hormone insulin, which controls blood sugar (glucose). In type 2 diabetes, the body loses its ability to use insulin and regulate blood sugar effectively.

Studies also show that it's probably not the caffeine, based on the studies of decaf coffee.

Graphic Design by: Janis Amoura

Drinking green tea is perhaps the simplest way to create and maintain a healthier new you. The health benefits of green tea are nothing new; it’s been studied since the Chinese began using the plant Camellia sinensis, from which black tea, white tea, oolong tea and green tea are extracted, about 4700 years ago. Research has been done into each of these varieties of tea, but most of the researchers’ focus has been on the health benefits of green tea.

Though not all studies support the same findings, green tea has been claimed to help and/or prevent atherosclerosis, LDL cholesterol, cancer, inflammatory bowel disease, diabetes, liver disease, weight loss, neurodegenerative and halitosis, among other things. Here are a few of the reasons you could benefit from drinking green tea daily:

1. Cancer Prevention

One of the top health concerns these days is cancer. Some studies, including those referenced in the New Scientist magazine, support claims that green tea protects against a variety of cancers, including breast, prostate, lung and gastric cancer. This, they say, is due to the powerful antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) found in green tea that can slow the growth of cancer by drinking two to three cups a day.

2. Weight Loss

Clinical trials have suggested that green tea increases metabolic rates, speeds up fat oxidation, raises the body’s production heat, improves insulin sensitivity and improves glucose tolerance. These trials, conducted by the University of Geneva and the University of Birmingham, support the idea that green tea contributes to a body’s energy expenditure and endurance, allowing for greater weight loss.

3. Reduces Effects of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)

Studies have shown that polyphenols, a property found in green tea, reduces intestinal inflammation by interrupting the reactions that cause the reactions found in patients with IBD.

4. Reduces Effects of Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Polyphenols have also been found to reduce or prevent the damaging effects of obstructive sleep apnea on the brain, in a study conducted by the University of Louisville.

5. Lower Risk of Strokes

Recent findings revealed at the 2009 International Stroke Conference showed that drinking three or more cups of green tea daily can reduce the risk of having a stroke by up to 21 per cent.

6. Lowers Severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis

A study has found that drinking green tea could reduce the severity of Rheumatoid Arthritis.

7. Prevention of Tooth Decay and Bad Breath

The bacteria-fighting polyphenols found in green tea stop the growth of some types of bacteria, particularly those that cause dental plaque and bad breath.

8. Slows HIV progress

A study referenced on BBC News stated that the antioxidant epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) can help to inhibit HIV binding, and could serve as a complementary therapy for HIV patients, though results were not convincing enough to suggest using green tea as a replacement for other treatments.

9. Reduces Effects of Depression

Several studies have supported the fact that drinking green tea daily, even after accounting for other variables, will reduce the severity of psychological distress and depression symptoms.

10. Reduces LDL Cholesterol

Green tea is claimed to help reduce the levels of LDL cholesterol by lowering the levels of triglycerides and increasing production of HDL cholesterol.

Image Credit: Kanko / cc

Drinking one or two cups coffee each day might do more than give you – and your boss – that much-needed boost on those groggy mornings. In fact, it might just be the ‘fountain of youth’ everyone’s been looking for.

Researchers from the University of Athens say drinking coffee helps people live longer by improving the elasticity of arteries, which minimizes the chances of developing heart disease. And with heart disease as the leading cause of death in the United States, the finding has medical professionals and citizens taking a better look at the benefits of making coffee consumption a regular part of a healthy lifestyle.

The research findings come after an analysis of 485 people ages 65 to 100 with high blood pressure. Research participants were from the Greek island Ikaria, called the “land of longevity” and known for having about one-third of its residents reach their 90th birthday.

The results are especially significant for the aging population who are looking for a way to counteract high blood pressure. Aging naturally leads to the stiffening of blood vessels, which sends the risk of high blood pressure soaring.

The research findings also, interestingly, found that varying from one to two cups of coffee per day by drinking less or more does not provide the same benefits.

Dr. Christina Chrysohoou, the head of the study, presented the findings to the European Society of Cardiology Congress. Chrysohoou explained that the university sought to discover why the island’s residents had such unusually long life expectancies and acknowledged that researchers have previously found conflicting results about whether coffee helps or harms the heart.

The results were based on groups of research participants divided into those who drank little or no coffee each day (33%), those who drank one to two cups of coffee each day (56%) and those who drank three or more cups a day (11%).

In the end, oddly enough, imaging scans revealed that those in the middle group who drank one to two cups of coffee a day had a 25% greater blood vessel elasticity than those drinking little to no coffee, but had five times greater elasticity than the heavier coffee drinkers in the latter group.

The study also revealed that those in the middle group were less likely to have high cholesterol, diabetes, cardiovascular disease or to be overweight.

The coffee that study participants drank was mostly traditional Greek coffee in small, espresso-sized cups. Greek coffee is generally much stronger and has more caffeine than the standard American coffee. Greek coffee is also unfiltered and unboiled, allowing it to retain more of the other beneficial components of coffee, including flavonoids, magnesium, potassium, niacin and vitamin E.

More skeptical medical professionals question the results, wondering if they could be duplicated or whether there was a false connection made between longevity and coffee consumption. They also suggested that the social aspect of coffee drinking, which is often in a relaxing, comfortable atmosphere absent from stress, could be a large factor in the findings. The daily momentary escape from stress while drinking coffee could also help avoid high blood pressure.

Organic coffee is increasingly the choice of big box retailers and it’s showing up increasingly on the shelves of grocers large and small.
 
Is the higher price tag worth making the switch to organic coffee beans?
 
Organic farmers use farming processes that bypass dependency on harmful substances added to the soil and to crops such as pesticides and fertilizers. In the world of organic coffee farming, many farmers who grow organic beans also take environmentally friendly measures such as avoiding soil depletion or clear-cutting forested areas. This leads to a slower harvest and to lower yields than mass farming methods linked to economies of scale.
 
So what are the advantages of spending more per cup?
 
Physically, organic coffee beans may seem identical to the lower-priced nonorganic bean, but there’s a world of difference that doesn’t meet the eye.
 
When you look at how organic coffee is grown, you’ll notice shade plants often on steep hillsides with fragile soil that can easily be eroded. Crops are regularly rotated to avoid depleting the soil and are typically fertilized with compost and disease-resistant mulch. Rotation benefits farmers by having a secondary crop and it also maintains fertility in a delicate ecosystem which can easily become depleted.

In independent studies of organic coffee farming, organic farms were observed to contain a higher number of tree species, and shared more tree, bird, and ant species with forests than uncertified farms.

Organic coffee farmers and the fair trade associations that support them are often affiliated with social initiatives in developing countries. This leads to a higher standard of life.

Organic coffee delivers up a variety of antioxidants that can protect your cells from damage to prevent disease and premature aging. Coffee that matures more slowly offers more natural sugars and results in a superior tasting bean. Organic coffee beans are richer in flavor because they are grown in the purest possible conditions.

Non-organic coffee, on the other hand, is one of the most chemically-treated crops in the world. Pesticides and insecticides used to control fungus and insects can contaminate the bean itself. Toxins that are added to the crops leads to compromised biological system including the air and water supply. Not only are the crops exposed to dangers but the farm workers handling chemically-treated crops are at risk.

To make room for expansive coffee plantations, large tracts of lands in South America, Central America, Mexico and Africa have been cleared. The clearing of tropical land has led to expansive deforestation. Over the past forty years, approximately two-thirds of rainforests in Central America were lost due to synthetic coffee farming.

In the beginning of coffee cultivation, all coffee was organic and shade grown. By its nature, coffee is an “understory” shrub that can’t tolerate direct sunlight that was planted under shade trees which helped to maintain a fertile soil rich with nutrients.

Today, organic coffee is grown in over 40 countries with total sales exceeding $1.4 billion dollars.
 
Sustainability, health and sometimes even livelihood and empowerment: it all starts with a cup of organic coffee.

Photo Credit: Jasleen Kaur

Switching To Decaf Coffee

When it comes to the question of drinking decaffeinated beverages, the effects on health, fertility and pregnancy are the subjects of intense research. A stimulant to the nervous system, caffeine can speed up everything from heart rate and blood pressure to thought processes. On the downside, caffeine can produce acid reflux, inhibit oxygen, increase cholesterol and interfere with calcium absorption. Caffeine has also been linked to leg cramps.

For those who are concerned about health risks or don't like the effects of caffeine, switching to decaf brews provides the coffee experience without the downsides.

If you’re a buyer of decaf looking for the best and purest brew, it’s important to understand how coffee is decaffeinated before you stock up on beans.

Decaffeinating coffee is achieved through four different decaffeination processes. Most of these processes use chemical solvents to extract the caffeine but which also affect the flavor and aroma. Unroasted green coffee beans can be rinsed with these compounds from 8 to 12 times. If you are health-conscious, you may be more interested in the organic alternative provided by the Swiss Water Process.

Swiss Water Process For Organic Decaf Coffee

Of all these processes, Swiss Water decaffeination produces the only organic decaf coffee. Environmentally friendly, it involves no toxic chemicals or agents used in its production and processing.

When it comes to removing caffeine, the Swiss Water process ensures that only the caffeine in the bean escapes – leaving the other compounds intact. In the Swiss Water Process, 99.9% of the caffeine in green coffee beans is removed using water.

Soaking the beans separates the caffeine. After filtering the water through activated charcoal, the beans are returned to filtered hot water where the flavor elements are reabsorbed.

Although the idea of removing caffeine using water is simple and activated carbon dates back to the early 1930s, the technology behind the Swiss Water process is relatively recent.

The results: taste-rich, chemical free coffee saturated in flavor. The Swiss Water process serves up a cup so good you can’t tell it is decaf.

Look for the trademark "Swiss Water" when you purchase your decaf coffee.