Potential Health Benefits of Coffee

Coffee or espresso is the morning drink of choice for many Americans. Coffee and espresso has become such a big business that it spawned a nationwide business phenomenon, Starbucks. Many people consider these morning caffeine drinks. However, you will probably be surprised to find out that espresso can actually have health benefits. Scientist and researchers have done multiple studies on the health benefits of espresso and coffee. These studies have proven that coffee drinks, such as espresso, can actually make you healthier.

Drinking caffeine drinks, such as espresso, can help reduce your risk of disease. Caffeine drinks have been found to reduce your risk of diabetes. WebMD describes the link between caffeine drinks and diabetes as, "downing one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders."

Coffee may actually ward off Parkinson's disease. Researchers not only found a link between coffee and reduced risk for diabetes, they also found a link to Parkinson's disease. WebMD states, "six studies indicate that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson's, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk." Diabetes and Parkinson's are only two diseases that are affected by drinking coffee. Researchers also found links between drinking coffee and reduction in colon cancer, liver cirrhosis, and even gallstones.

Coffee can even help keep you healthy from your other vices. Research has even found a link between coffee drinking and healing the effects of smoking and drinking. WebMD states, "Coffee even offsets some of the damage caused by other vices, some research indicates. "People who smoke and are heavy drinkers have less heart disease and liver damage when they regularly consume large amounts of coffee compared to those who don't," says DePaulis."

Coffee has even been linked to safer driving. This almost sounds way to good to be true; however, studies have shown that driving while drowsy greatly increases your risk of having an accident. Coffee has been included in the recipe to fight drowsy driving. Positively Coffee described the recipe to fight drowsy driving as, "STOP driving, DRINK one or two cups of coffee (containing in total about 150 mg of caffeine) and take a short nap for about 15 minutes."

Coffee's fresh flavor is the basis of the health benefits. Coffee beans contain a large amount of antioxidants. When the coffee beans are roasted, antioxidants are released. Good Morning America described the health benefits of antioxidants as, "Antioxidants are your army to protect you from the toxic free radicals, which come from breathing oxygen and eating sugar, that start chronic diseases," said Dr. Joe Vinson, the chemistry professor who led the coffee study. "Antioxidants help stave off cancer, heart disease, diabetes and stroke."

Espresso can offer more antioxidants. Because of the preparation process, espresso contains more antioxidants than coffee. During brewing, steam is driven quickly through the ground coffee beans. This quick brewing process ensures that much of the antioxidants are released from the coffee beans. This does not mean that black coffee drinkers will not gain some health benefits. Although at lower levels than Espresso, coffee also contains antioxidants.

Just because a little coffee has health benefits, more is not always better. Your first morning cup of coffee offers a large amount of antioxidants. However, the level of antioxidants decreases with each subsequent cup. Research has found that the level of antioxidants decreases as you go further into the pot. If you brew another pot, without changing the beans, then both the coffee's flavor and level of antioxidants decreases.

Coffee is not only a good pick me up. Coffee can also offer many health benefits including reducing your risk of colon cancer, diabetes, liver problems, and even gallstones. Coffee has also been shown to reduce the negative effects of smoking and drinking alcohol. Coffee is even part of the recipe to help fight drowsy driving. No matter what type of coffee you enjoy, picking up that morning cup of coffee or espresso could actually help you stay healthy.

References
Coffee and Safer Driving. n.d. Positively Coffee. Retrieved on December 7, 2009 from http://www.positivelycoffee.org/%2ftopic_driving_statement.aspx
Study: Drinking Coffee Has Health Benefits. August 2005. Good Morning America. Retrieved on December 7, 2009 from http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/story?id=1074559
Kirchheimer, Sid. Coffee: The New Health Food? WebMD. Retrieved on December 7, 2009 from http://men.webmd.com/features/coffee-new-health-food