Coffee is America’s most popular herbal beverage.
Truehmer, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Coffee is known to combat drowsiness, temporarily boost athletic performance, ease congestion due to colds and flu, prevent asthma attacks and enhance the pain-relieving effects of aspirin.
Of course, it can also cause problems — jitters and insomnia. However, the latest research shares that it appears to pose no particular threat in most people if consumed in moderation.
My experience: I love my coffee in the mornings. However, I’ve learned the hard way about moderation! These days I usually drink two cups (once in a while three) each a.m. While it’s best to drink it black, I do add half and half because coffee is a bit too bitter for my taste buds. I can attest to the boost in energy, or at least it seems that way. While I’ve always been quite the early riser, until I’ve had my coffee, I’m pretty slow to get started and definitely need a kickstart, which it provides. Are you a coffee drinker? Well, the news is good for us… in moderation!
History of Coffee:
Coffee has been around for a long time. The name comes from Caffa, the region of Ethiopia where the beans were first discovered. The beverage emerged around A.C.E. 1000, when Arabians began roasting and grinding the beans and drinking the hot beverage as we do today. Until the 17th century, Arabia supplied all the world’s supply through the port of Mocha, which became one of its names. Then the Dutch introduced the plant into Java, and the island quickly became synonymous with it.
Dosage:
If you want to drink it, two cups per day is generally what doctors will recommend. The medically important constituent is, of course, caffeine, but the caffeine content depends on how it’s prepared. A cup of instant contains about 60 milligrams of caffeine whereas drip or percolated has about 100. A cup of espresso contains about 100 milligrams, but this is in a 2 1/2-ounce cup.
Precautions:
Caffeine is addictive. Regular users develop a tolerance and require more to obtain the expected effect. Deprived of caffeine, regular users usually develop withdrawal symptoms, primarily a headache, which can last several days. It is most notorious for causing insomnia and increasing anxiety, irritability and nervousness. It can also aggravate panic attacks. It increases the secretion of stomach acids and can upset the stomach. Doctors say that people with ulcers or other gastrointestinal conditions should use it cautiously, if at all.
Contrary to popular mythology, coffee does not cause ulcers. It can, however, make ulcers worse in people who already have them. It also raises blood pressure in those who are not accustomed to drinking it. But the body adjusts, and normal consumption no longer affects blood pressure.
Coffee has been associated with some bad news. One of which is heart disease. The subject is extremely controversial, with evidence supporting both sides of the argument. Most studies indicate that coffee can increase cholesterol levels. Decaffeinated coffee has the same cholesterol-boosting effect as regular, suggesting that caffeine is not the culprit. However, filtered coffee doesn’t raise cholesterol as much as boiled coffee. It may also increase the risk of heart attack if one consumes more than four cups a day.
There are reports that coffee aggravates premenstrual syndrome in many women.