Caffeine
How much coffee or tea ought one to drink? There are enormous benefits to tea.
Coffee drinking at midlife is associated with a decreased risk of dementia/AD later in life. After an average follow-up of 21 years, 1409 individuals (71%) aged 65 to 79 completed the re-examination in 1998. A total of 61 cases were identified as demented (48 with AD). Coffee drinkers at midlife had lower risk of dementia and AD later in life compared with those drinking no or only a little coffee. The lowest risk (65% decreased) was found in people who drank 3-5 cups per day. (J Alzheimers Dis. 2009 Jan;16(1):85-91)
Reduces Parkinson's risk ...Alzheimers; Source: Alzheimers newsletter:
Coffee did not prevent mental decline in elderly - This study did not justify coffee drinking (added 9/2009)
DOES A CUP OF COFFEE A DAY KEEP THE DOCTOR AWAY?
A 2005 study from the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania indicates coffee is one of the leading dietary sources of antioxidants for Americans. Researchers analyzed 100 of the most common food items in the American diet and found coffee led the pack, contributing 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants to the average American each day. Tea was a distant second (294 mg.) and bananas fell into third place (72mg.). The results were based on average daily consumption of these food products, and researchers were quick to note that coffee, which can also increase cholesterol levels, should not be substituted for a healthy intake of fruits and vegetables and should only be consumed in moderation. The study also cautions that high antioxidant levels in foods and beverages don't necessarily translate into levels found in the body. The potential health benefits of these antioxidants ultimately depends on how they are absorbed and utilized in the body, a process that is still poorly understood.
From Charalambos Vlachopoulos, et al Chronic coffee consumption has a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and wave reflections Am J Clin Nutr 2005 81: 1307-1312. Conclusions: Chronic coffee consumption exerts a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and wave reflections, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. [Study compared drinking no coffee vs. 1 cup a day vs. 2 cups a day vs. more than that. Impact on blood pressure went from 3.4 to 7.7 to 8.0 mm Hg, which was the maximum even for those exceeding 2 cups a day.]
But what about caffeine itself?
“Many dietary supplements promise to improve physical and mental functioning, but caffeine, an age-old food component, is one of the few that delivers…Many ills have been ascribed to caffeine, but few have been substantiated…there is a consensus that caffeine does not promote ventricular arrhythmia…”
From Nutrition Today 37:28-35 (2002)
Individuals who consume caffeine may experience increased alertness, better memory and mood, and improved reasoning powers. Moderate caffeine consumption (less than 4 cups of coffee) does not affect breast milk or the infant. Women who drank lots of coffee (more than 4 cups) had a 27% lower chance of conceiving.
But the story on coffee is not entirely positive.
2021: Although caffeine appears to reduce the volume of gray matter, after just 10 days of coffee abstinence, it had significantly regenerated in the test subjects.
Studies have suggested that low-grade systemic inflammation participates in the pathophysiology of obesity, insulin resistance, heart disease, metabolic syndrome X, and abnormal coagulation process. This study enrolled 1514 men ( ± SD age: 46 ± 13 y; range: 18Ð87 y) and 1528 women. The findings were significant even after control for the interactions between coffee consumption and age, sex, smoking, body mass index, physical activity status, and other covariates. A relation exists between moderate-to-high coffee consumption and increased inflammation process. This relation could explain, in part, the effect of increased coffee intake on the cardiovascular system. [Roc's comment -The risks and benefits of coffee are still unclear to me. Moderation in all things remains a useful general rule] [FOR A RESEARCH POSTER ABOUT THE PROS AND CONS OF COFFEE, CLICK HERE and follow the link to Coffee.
Charalambos Vlachopoulos, et al Chronic coffee consumption has a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and wave reflections Am J Clin Nutr 2005 81: 1307-1312.
Conclusions: Chronic coffee consumption exerts a detrimental effect on aortic stiffness and wave reflections, which may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Heather J Petrie et al, Caffeine ingestion increases the insulin response to an oral-glucose-tolerance test in obese men before and after weight loss
Am J Clin Nutr 2004 80: 22-28
Conclusions: A nutrition and exercise intervention improved, whereas caffeine ingestion impaired, insulin-glucose homeostasis in obese men. The results are consistent with previous findings that caffeine ingestion contributes to insulin resistance.