Introduction:
Legend has it that an Arabian shepherd named Kaldi discovered coffee. One day he found his goats dancing joyously around a dark green leafed shrub with bright red cherries in the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula. Kaldi soon found out that it was the bright red cherries on the shrub that were causing the peculiar euphoria and he tried it on himself and experienced a sense of well-being and euphoria. Monks at a local monastery to stay awake during extended hours of prayer then exploited the stimulating effect. Coffee soon found its way into all parts of the world.
I became a coffee addict when I was in the final year of my medical school. This addiction continued even when I was a resident in hospital. I started drinking coffee to keep awake. I was always short of sleep during my resident days. I was drinking more than 16 cups of coffee a day. I was constantly suffering from a craving. I had heartburn. I was constantly irritable and when I did not get my coffee in time, my hands started trembling. I knew that something was very wrong.
Finally I decided that enough was enough. I took a sabbatical from my work for three weeks and signed up at an ashram, where you got only fruits and raw vegetables and I got myself detoxified. It was terrible for the first three days. But, I managed to quit that habit. I must confess, I do occasionally get tempted to drink coffee and I do indulge in one small cup, whenever temptation overpowers me.
Did You Know?
1. Coffee shops make up the FASTEST GROWING part of the restaurant business, checking in with a 7% annual growth rate!
2. World coffee production in 2005-2006 was at 113 million bags!
3. 14 billion espresso coffees are consumed each year in Italy, reaching over 200,000 coffee bars, and still growing!
4. Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day, or equivalent to 146,000,000,000 (146 Billion) cups of coffee per year; making the United States the LEADING CONSUMER of coffee in the world
5.Japan ranks number 3 in the world for coffee consumption.
6. Coffee represents 75% of all the caffeine consumed in the United States.
7. Café Bars average sales of 230 cups a day.
8.Coffee is grown commercially in over 45 countries throughout the world.
The coffee trade employs over 5 million people in Brazil. Most of those are involved with the cultivation and harvesting of more than 3 billion coffee plants.
It is not easy to understand the ill effects of coffee:
What complicates our understanding the danger of coffee consumption is that we drink coffee with hundreds of other things like, tea, colas, soda, sugar and mild. Then there are decaf drinkers. This group is more health conscious and takes nutritional supplements and vegetables. Heavy-coffee drinkers generally smoke more, drink more alcohol, and eat more fatty foods than non-coffee-drinkers.
Caffeine Benefits:
A stimulant like caffeine can give us more alertness, elevate our heart rate and blood pressure and improve our performance in certain sports.
Moderate coffee consumption may be beneficial in gall bladder disease. Coffee drinkers are less prone to liver cancer and coffee may exhibit a protective effect on the liver in persons who drink alcohol excessively. Researchers attribute the beneficial effect of coffee on the liver to caffeine and antioxidants. It is also said to lower the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
Coffee is also said to improve brain function and alertness. It is believed that coffee drinkers had a less risk from Parkinson’s disease.
It is said to be effective in controlling a migraine headache.
Caffeine Risks;
It is said to disturb the sleep when taken at night.
Sensitive subjects discover that even one cup of coffee can raise the Blood pressure and if one has a blood pressure, caffeine carries a risk. It can increase the bad cholesterol and increase the risk of heart disease.
Excessive caffeine can cause osteoporosis.
Pregnant women should consume less caffeine because it is associated with the risk of miscarriage. It also may cause birth defects in the new born. Caffeine is also said to affect fertility adversely.
Coffee can raise the serum homocysteine levels and raise the risk of coronary artery disease. Men who drank five or more cups of coffee a day were two and a half times more likely to develop heart disease than men who drank no coffee.
Conclusion:
Your caffeine can come form coffee, tea, chocolates or energy drinks. There are several health benefits in caffeine. The key to caffeine’s health benefits like in consuming it moderately. Even decaffeinated drinks are not totally safe, as they are known to adversely affect the lipid profile.
It is dangerous to get addicted to coffee. I have discovered that the hard way. If you must drink coffee, then drink it in moderation. Cheers!
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