Good Sunday morning, everyone! Welcome March! Let’s hope the groundhog was right and the temperatures are going to start warming up. What a year so far.
So speaking of warming up, what do you think of when someone says “Let’s go get something to warm us up?” Coffee, of course! March is National Coffee Month so I wanted to touch on the good and bad of drinking coffee.
Coffee is high in antioxidants and linked to a reduced risk of many diseases. Coffee contains caffeine which is a stimulant that can enhance brain function, energy levels, exercise performance and boost your metabolism.
Studies have shown that coffee drinkers have up to 65 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and 32 percent to 60 percent lower risk of Parkinson’s disease. The more coffee a person drinks the lower the risk.
Coffee drinkers have up to an 84 percent lower risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver and 40 percent lower risk of liver cancer. The one good statistic I found, that always excites me, was the effects it has on mental disorders.
In one Harvard study done in 2011 it found people who drank the most coffee had a 20 percent lower risk of becoming depressed. People who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were 53 percent less likely to commit suicide. Given that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of many common, deadly diseases, as well as suicide, coffee could help you live longer.
If you ever wondered why they say little to no caffeine during your pregnancy one reason is because being that it’s a stimulant your body can handle it but your baby cannot. The baby’s metabolism is still maturing and cannot fully metabolize the caffeine. Also numerous studies have shown that caffeine can cause birth defects or possibly miscarriages.
The only other negative to drinking coffee is consuming too much caffeine can lead to jitteriness, anxiety, heart palpitations and even exacerbated panic attacks. Another unwanted side effect is that it can disrupt your sleep if drank late in the day. Every person’s body reacts differently so please just listen to your body after drinking coffee.
Decaf does not have all of the same health benefits as regular coffee. To maximize the health benefits of drinking coffee it is important not to put a lot of sugar in your coffee and always brew with a paper filter so it can get rid of a cholesterol-raising compound found in coffee beans.
So all in all, Happy National Coffee Month.
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Sherri M. Askren is president of United Way of Danville Area, Inc., 28 W. North St., Danville, IL 61832. Phone: 442-3512