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Coffee - in detail
RnB/Hip Hop | Wednesday 29th August 2012 | Osh
Here at the Guestlist coffee is one of our many vices; our bin is full to the brim with paper cups and coffee stamps are a tradable asset. With all this caffeine pumping through our veins we are of course keen of mind, and we’ve been wondering about all the myths surrounding coffee for a little while. So, we’ve done some research into coffee, found out some facts about how harmful or not harmful it really is, and whether we’re as addicted to coffee as we feel.
Coffee Facts
It is estimated that 1.6 billion cups of coffee are drunk worldwide every day
In the UK around 70 million cups of coffee are drunk every day. Last year in Britain £730 million was spent on coffee
Coffee contains caffeine – also known as 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine – as well as antioxidants and some other stuff.
The French philosopher Voltaire apparently drank around 50 cups of coffee a day.
There are massive variables that could come into effect regarding the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee like where you got it, whether you’re having filter coffee or espresso, and what kind of bean they use, how long it was roasted, and the brewing process...
Beans - Arabica contains much less caffeine than Robusta.
Sip by sip there’s more caffeine in an espresso than a filter coffee, but if the espresso is diluted (for instance if you have a latte) then there’s probably more caffeine in a filter coffee.
Is it actually addictive?
Caffeine is addictive, if you stop drinking coffee abruptly, you may have withdrawal symptoms for a day or more, especially if you drink two or more cups per day. Symptoms of withdrawal from caffeine include headache, fatigue, anxiety, irritability, depressed mood and difficulty concentrating. Because withdrawal symptoms shouldn’t last more than a few days most health professionals don’t consider it to be a properly addictive drug, so it’s not in the same league as alcohol and other drugs.
What are the adverse effects?
CHOLESTEROL – There’s something with a funny name in caffeine that does something to your body to increase cholesterol, it’s something that doesn’t get through the paper filter for filter coffee, but it’s still present in espresso, so espresso could raise cholesterol if too much is consumed.
BLACK COFFEE – Caffeine causes the body to lose calcium and magnesium, which could lead to bone problems, therefore caffeine would need to be offset for a person to retain normal calcium levels, for instance two teaspoons of milk would offset calcium loss from one cup of coffee
PREGNANCY – Healthcare professionals recommend no more than 200mg of caffeine per day for a pregnant woman, as higher levels could lead to miscarriage or a low birth weight of the baby.
BLOOD PRESSURE – Caffeine can raise blood pressure.
ADRENALINE – Caffeine can increase blood levels of adrenaline.
KIDS – Up to 300 mg of caffeine is ‘safe’ for children, but they have an increased risk of anxiety and irritability, as well as likelihood of experiencing a ‘crash’ as the effects wear off.
SLEEP – Caffeine doesn’t hang around for very long, and after eight hours 75% of caffeine will have left your body, so drinks earlier in the day shouldn’t interfere with sleep, but if you consume caffeine less than 6 hours before going to sleep it could cause some problems.
Depending on your metabolism and sensitivity, caffeine could affect you more, people who are more sensitive could experience insomnia, and could experience side effects of nervousness and gastrointestinal upset.
What are the benefits?
Lots of studies have looked at the possible benefits of coffee, that is, they’ve looked at how coffee effects certain things, such as diabetes, cancers and more, and many studies have found significant correlation between coffee drinking and decreased risks of certain illnesses, but there’s not really been much research into the background – how coffee helps, what other factors are involved, etc.
ANTIOXIDANTS – Coffee is high in antioxidants – antioxidants help prevent tissue damage by oxygen-free radicals BUT it’s not yet known whether the antioxidants in coffee find their way into the blood stream.
STROKE – There could be a lower chance of a stroke. One study suggested two cups a day or more decreased chances of stroke by 20% in women.
DIABETES – Regularly drinking coffee could help prevent Type II Diabetes (even if it’s Decaf). This may be because coffee contains magnesium and chromium which help the body produce insulin.
CANCER – Studies have shown that high coffee consumption is associated with decreased risk of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer
Regularly drinking coffee probably helps prevent the onset of Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and dementia.
By Sarah Bradley
