Life's Guilty Pleasures: The Health Benefits of Caffeine

Caffeine. It's in out coffee, our soft drinks, our chocolates, even our pain relievers. And it's bad for us, right? Let's not be too hasty jumping on that decaf bandwagon. Like so many other things that we were told were bad for us (hello butter, goodbye margarine), more and more studies are showing that there are considerable health benefits that caffeine provides.

Myths

First, lets debunk several myths and distortions that have been pinned to caffeine. First caffeine does not cause cancer. In fact, studies are showing a decrease in the risk of several types of cancer in consumers of caffeine. The same is true with cardiovascular or arterial disease. Consuming caffeine has been shown to bring benefits, not harm.

Another myth is that caffeine causes calcium depletion, and can lead to osteoporosis. While studies on this are mixed regarding children and caffeine, it has been found that calcium depletion in adults is not the problem it once was. According to the governments National Institute for Biotechnology Information, any negative effects of caffeine can be offset with drinking as little as 1-2 tablespoons of milk. The major culprit has been found to be a lack of calcium in the diet, not too much caffeine.

Caffeine has long been thought to cause an increase in blood pressure. While this myth is partially true, the problem is not the evil it was once thought to be. There is a small increase in blood pressure after consuming caffeine, however, that increase is about the same as the increase you would get from a small amount of physical exertion, like climbing a flight of stairs. This increase is short lived, and after several minutes the blood pressure has been found to return to normal.

Health Benefits

So what are the health benefits?

I mentioned earlier that there there is no evidence that caffeine causes cancer. In fact one study showed that compared to non-coffee drinkers, there is a 30% reduction in the risk of colon cancer with people who drink two cups of coffee a day. Coffee is loaded with antioxidants, which help hunt down and destroy free-radicals in the body. Free-radicals bounce around the body damaging healthy cells, and have long been linked to cancer.

Coffee drinkers also see a significant decrease in the risk of diabetes. A recent Harvard study of over 126,000 people conducted over 18 years found that compared to non-coffee drinkers, drinking 1-3 cups of coffee a day will reduce the risk of diabetes by single digits, but drinking drinking 6 or more cups a day reduced that risk by 30% in women and 54% in men. Dr. Tomas DePaulis at Vanderbilt Univ. Institute for Coffee Studies: "Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more helpful than harmful." He also said that drinking coffee brings little bad, but a lot of good.

Among the other health benefits linked with caffeine are:

• At least six studies have shown coffee drinkers are significantly less likely to develop Parkinson's Disease (at least three studies showed that the more coffee you drank, the lower your risk).
• Compared to non coffee drinkers, consumers of coffee reduce their risk of cirrhosis of the liver by up to 80%, and cut their risk of gall stones in half.
• There have been some studies that showed that coffee may help manage asthma, and may help in controlling attacks when medication is not available.

Physical Benefits

There are other physical benefit gained from caffeine as well. Test have shown that consuming caffeine 30 minutes before you begin your workout will give you more endurance, faster performance times, you will be less fatigued, and your recovery time will decrease. For the maximum physical benefits, you should take caffeine tablets instead of drinking coffee. It appears that some of the other ingredients in coffee may reduce the effectiveness of caffeine in boosting your physical performance. Coffee is also a diuretic, which will cause your body to loose more fluids and increase the risk of dehydration.

Caffeine has long been tied to weight loss, and it's an ingredient an many "diet" pills. There are a couple of reasons for caffeine's effectiveness in weight loss. First, caffeine speeds your bodies metabolism. Your body will burn calories at a faster rate, which will lead to weight loss. Caffeine also breaks down fat, freeing the fatty acids, which are immediately burned by your body. In fact, it has been shown that fat conversion is up to 30% more efficient when you consume caffeine before you exercise. When the fat is burned, your body retains the glycogen, glucose, and amino acids that were trapped in the fatty tissue. This reduces the occurrence of low blood sugar. By keeping the blood sugar higher for longer periods of time, it reduces the pangs of hunger, which also helps with weight control.

Another positive side effect with higher blood sugar is, brain activity is stimulated by blood sugar. Higher levels increase the brains activities. Drinking coffee does more than keep students awake as they cram for exams. It actually helps improve their mental abilities.

Pain Relief

Test have shown that caffeine is a very effective pain reliever, and can even improve your mood. Caffeine is an ingredient in many pain relievers. A study by the Cleveland Clinic found that caffeine additives make pain-relievers 40% more effective in treating headaches. Caffeine also speeds your bodies ability to absorb the pain medication, bringing faster relief. The studies have also shown that for mild headaches, a cup of coffee may be all you need to ease the pain.

So relax and drink your coffee. It does a body good.