CAFFINE KICK!

For years I’ve loved coffee in many different forms. Even the aroma of freshly ground beans seems to lift my spirits. I always knew it was powerful stuff, but was keen to research just how beneficial it may be.

Coffee has been keeping people buzzing since the 15^th century and many scientific discoveries have been made on this powerful beverage. I have researched the positive and negative sides of including it in your daily diet.

1) SPORTS PERFORMANCE:

Positive – The Autralians have discovered that drinking as little as a single espresso before exercise can increase endurance levels by up to 25%, mobilizing fatty acids and providing fuel for active muscles.

Negative – Coffee is a liquid – leeching diuretic and is up to ten times less effective than water for replacing body fluids. Also, if you drink more than four cups prior to exercise you put a potentially lethal strain on your heart. So know when enough is enough!

2) MENTAL FOCUS:

Positive – Recent research suggests that 1 -2 cups of coffee before tasks can increase your short term memory and alertness. Caffine also has a mild mood-elevating effect. This is because it releases ‘dopamine’, which stimulates a part of your brain responsible for pleasure. Coffee is also known to reduce your risk of developing Alzheimers by as much as 60%, and can half your risk of developing Parkinsons disease.

Negative – Drinking more than four cups a day simply relieves withdrawal symptoms rather than lifting your mental abilities above your caffine-free competitors. It may be best to limit yourself to 2 cups per day and drink one about ten minutes before the important task.

3) MUSCLES:

Positive – Caffine revs up your heart rate, nervous system and breathing, which primes your body for peak performance. It may also trigger extra calcium release in your muscles – which means stronger muscle contractions.

Negative – Other chemical compounds in coffee may counteract the ability of caffine to impact your workout. So to achieve these positive effects, you are better off using caffine pills or caffeinated energy drinks.

4) HEART HEALTHY:

Positive – Research has now found that drinking more than six cups per day did ‘not’ increase the risk of heart disease. Also, scientist in Brooklyn found that men who drank four cups of coffee per day had a 53% lower risk of developing heart disease than those who were caffine free!

Negative –Caffine makes your arteries constrict, raising your blood pressure. However, if you do not suffer from hypertension to begin with, the temporary blood pressure rise is not known to cause a problem. Also, if you are a regular coffee drinker, the impact on blood pressure is much lower because the body becomes tolerant to the effects of caffine.

5) WEIGHT:

Positive – Caffine is an appetite suppressant and increases your heart rate and metabolism. Drinking six cups per day combined with a low-fat diet and exercise can boost fat burning by up to a fifth.

Negative – Without the diet and exercise, there is no proof that caffine has any significant effect by itself.

6) TEETH:

Positive – Chemicals in coffee are known to prevent tooth decay by preventing bacteria attaching to your enamel.

Negative – The chemicals prevent bacteria sticking to your enamel by sticking to itself – which can cause discolouring. Using a toothpaste which contains bicarbonate of soda should help alleviate this problem.

7) OVERALL HEALTH:

Positive – Coffee contains many antioxidants and protects us against cancer and heart disease. Drinking more that four cups has also been shown to protect against gallstones and cirrhosis of the liver – this is thanks to it’s soluble fibre.

Negative – Coffee does not provide the same amount of antioxidants that fruit and vegetables do, and they are harder to absorb. Also, if you drink coffee within one hour of eating a meal, it reduces the absorption of iron and zinc.