"It looks like America's coffee craze may be good for people other than the stockholders of Starbucks.".
(Healthology - abcnews.go.com)
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Health Benefits of Coffee Consumption
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- Coffee and colon cancer: Coffee drinking may lower your risk of colon cancer by up to 25 percent because of its ability to help keep you regular.
- Coffee and kidney stones: Two observational studies found that regular coffee intake reduced the risk of developing kidney stones.
- Coffee and asthma: People with asthma who drink coffee can have up to 25 percent fewer symptoms because one of the compounds in coffee - theophylline - acts as a bronchodilator.
- Other diseases that coffee may help prevent: cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's disease, skin cancer, and gallstones.
- Scientists at Vrije University in Amsterdam said components in coffee seem to help the body metabolize sugar, thereby reducing the risk of diabetes. Individuals who drank seven or more cups of coffee a day, were 50 percent less likely to develop the disease.
- Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health say in a new study that people who drink more than six cups of coffee a day may be doing a lot more than keeping themselves awake - this kind of consumption apparently also can help reduce the risk of diabetes.
- In general, small amounts of caffeine each day seem to have no negative impact on health for most people and, in fact, may even be helpful.
- In a study published in March 1996 in the American Medical Association's archives of internal Medicine, researchers at the Harvard Medical School reported that women who drink coffee are less likely to commit suicide than those who do not. Also, a 1990 study on caffeine revealed that as little as 100 milligrams per day (less than one moderately strong cup of coffee) could increase feelings of well-being, energy, and motivation to work.
- Also on the positive side are numerous clinical and anecdotal reports that caffeine can improve mental acuity and, in some cases, athletic performance. Men who drink at least four cups of coffee with caffeine a day have a 45% lower risk of developing gallstones.
It looks like America's coffee craze may be good for people other than the stockholders of Starbucks. More and more studies are suggesting that coffee offers health benefits, including a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, Parkinson's disease, gall bladder disease and even of suicide.
Recent research suggests that drinking moderate amounts of coffee (two to four cups per day) provides a wide range of health benefits. Most of these benefits have been identified through statistical studies that track a large group of subjects over the course of years and match incidence of various diseases with individual habits, like drinking coffee, meanwhile controlling for other variables that may influence that relationship. In addition, some studies have indicated that coffee contains four times the amount of cancer-fighting anti-oxidants as green tea.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/living/Healthology/coffee_benefits_healthology.html?HEALTHAd=true
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