The health benefits of coffee have been debated for many years. This is primarily because so many people drink coffee that it is difficult to tell which positive and negative health effects are influenced by the coffee itself. Nonetheless, it is well known that coffee is high in antioxidants and there seems to be fairly conclusive evidence that coffee reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease and possibly even Alzheimer’s.
The term free radicals has been thrown around for years, but many people still do not know exactly what they are. A free radical is on atom that is missing an electron. This atom will very quickly steal an electron from the nearest atom in its area. This can affect your cells, and over the course of many years, exposure to free radicals will cause long-term damage to your body. This damage builds up over the long run, and can even lead to an increased risk of cancer at an older age.
Antioxidants will stabilize these free radicals by giving them one of its electrons. Therefore, eating food that is high in antioxidants will help keep your body stable. Coffee is extremely high in antioxidants, especially darker coffees, and especially right after they are roasted and brewed. Granted, it has not necessarily been proven that the body’s supply of antioxidants increases after consuming coffee. But certainly some of the antioxidants will get into your body, and therefore, dark coffee will in fact decrease the amount of free radical damage your body takes to some degree.
It also seems fairly clear that regular consumption of coffee reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. There is a very noticeable pattern on a worldwide scale of coffee drinkers being less susceptible to Parkinson’s. It also seems that coffee reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease as well, but this has not been as well-established as the Parkinson’s prevention has. It seems that the caffeine in the coffee is what helps stimulate and keep the brain working well, although it is still unclear how exactly this works.
A study in 2005 of roughly 100,000 Japanese people came to the conclusion that a daily cup of coffee reduces the risk of liver cancer. Other research suggests that it is the caffeine that reduces the risk of cancer, though other doctors believe it is the high antioxidant level that helps keep it under control. Doctors are still unclear on this. But as things stand, coffees effect seems clear.
Coffee is not completely safe in all situations for all people. It seems that an excessive amount of coffee drinking — 3 cups a day or more — can increase the chances that a pregnant woman will have trouble with the pregnancy. Miscarriages especially seem somewhat more likely. Only a cup or so a day does not seem to cause any problems, but if you are pregnant or are planning on becoming pregnant, you will certainly want to ask your doctor about coffee consumption.
And of course, these facts apply to plain black coffee. As soon as you start to add cream, sugar, or syrups, you add calories to the drink and can potentially add health risks that those products are known for. It does not seem that these products reduce coffees benefits, but they bring their own risks. This is especially true when you buy lattes and other drinks at coffee places like Starbucks. You drink these drinks at your own risk, no matter how delicious they taste.