Coffee has long been integrated into modern daily life, and many people are in the habit of having a cup to wake themselves up when they have free time. However, when it comes to what positive and negative effects coffee actually has on health, many people are not clear about it. This article systematically sorts out the nutritional components of coffee, the benefits and potential risks brought by caffeine, and specifically lists people who need to drink coffee with caution, such as patients with liver disease, patients with digestive system diseases, pregnant women, and children. If you also care about whether you are suited to drinking coffee and how to drink it more healthily, you may as well keep reading.
Coffee has become a quite popular drink in our daily lives. Many young people like to have a cup of coffee in their leisure time to refresh themselves and clear their minds, but many people are not very clear about the benefits and drawbacks of drinking coffee. Therefore, it is necessary for us to understand the benefits and drawbacks of drinking coffee, as well as the groups who should drink coffee with caution. So let's learn about it together below.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Coffee
Many people will say that drinking coffee harms the stomach, easily causes nervous tension and palpitations, and that after drinking coffee their hands tremble, so they dare not try it. But it also has many little-known benefits. As long as you know how to drink it at the right time and in the right amount, you can bring the benefits of coffee into full play.
I. The Components of Coffee
Coffee beans themselves contain B vitamins and niacin, and roasted coffee beans have higher levels than raw ones. They also contain free fatty acids, caffeine, and tannic acid, so coffee itself does have calories, but not many. The main calories still come from the creamer and sugar you add when drinking coffee.
II. The Benefits of Caffeine
1. Because caffeine has the effect of stimulating the central nervous system and muscles, it can boost alertness, improve thinking and memory, and relieve muscle fatigue.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Drinking Coffee, and the Groups Who Should Drink Coffee with Caution
2. Acting on the cardiovascular system, it can improve heart function, dilate blood vessels, and promote blood circulation.
3. For the gastrointestinal system, it can help digestion and help break down fat. Front Street Coffee reminds here that only drinking it in moderation can bring these positive effects into play.
4. Recently, a new study in the United States also showed that drinking coffee can enhance sexual desire, because coffee improves blood circulation, speeds up heart rate, and stimulates the activity of the nervous system. Therefore, people who regularly drink coffee have more active sex lives than those who do not, and not only that, it can also reduce the probability of suffering from impotence.
5. Coffee can protect experimental mice from radiation damage, and may have the same effect on humans. Researchers at the Indian Atomic Research Center found that experimental mice injected with caffeine survived high doses of radiation, with about 70% still alive after 25 days, while all the mice that did not receive the injection died. Life tips
6. Drinking some coffee every morning may reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease. Experiments with mice at Massachusetts General Hospital found that caffeine can maintain the level of dopamine in the brain. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that allows brain cells to transmit information. Parkinson's disease is related to a lack of dopamine in the brain.
III. The Harms of Caffeine
1. Aggravating High Blood Pressure
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Drinking Coffee, and the Groups Who Should Drink Coffee with Caution
Because caffeine itself has an analgesic effect, it is often combined with other simple analgesics into compound formulations. However, if taken in large amounts over a long period, and if you already have high blood pressure, using large amounts of caffeine will only make your condition more serious. This is because caffeine alone can raise blood pressure, and if emotional tension is added, there will be a dangerous multiplier effect. Therefore, people at risk of high blood pressure should especially avoid drinking caffeinated beverages when under great work pressure. Some people who have had the habit of drinking coffee for years think they are already immune to the effects of caffeine, but the facts are not so. A study showed that after drinking one cup of coffee, blood pressure can remain elevated for as long as 12 hours.
2. Inducing Osteoporosis
Caffeine itself has a very good diuretic effect. If you drink coffee heavily over a long period, it is easy to cause bone loss, which will have an adverse effect on the preservation of bone mass. For women, it may increase the threat of osteoporosis. But the premise is that your usual diet was already lacking in sufficient calcium intake, or that you do not exercise often, and if postmenopausal women are added to this, with calcium loss caused by lack of estrogen, only when the above situations are combined with large amounts of caffeine may there be a threat to bones. If you can enjoy it in a reasonable amount, you can still avoid giving up eating for fear of choking.
IV. Groups Who Should Drink Coffee with Caution
1. Patients with Liver Disease
Caffeine will prolong the time caffeine is metabolized in the body. Generally, a normal adult needs 2 hours to metabolize caffeine, but for patients with liver disease or incomplete liver function, caffeine metabolism may require 4 to 5 hours. Therefore, patients with liver disease must be careful when drinking coffee. It is best not to drink it after evening, so as to avoid affecting sleep due to the long metabolism time, and it is best not to exceed 1 cup a day.
The Benefits and Drawbacks of Drinking Coffee, and the Groups Who Should Drink Coffee with Caution
2. Patients with Digestive System Diseases
I believe people who often have stomach pain or stomach disease all have this experience: the doctor will certainly instruct them not to eat irritating foods, including alcohol, chili, coffee, tea, and carbonated drinks. The reason coffee is included among them is that the tannic acid in it stimulates the secretion of gastric acid. Patients in the acute stage of digestive disease must avoid it. After recovering health, if you occasionally drink coffee, it is also best to drink it after a meal and avoid drinking coffee on an empty stomach. Often
3. Pregnant Women
Many women, starting from pregnancy, become especially careful about all the food they eat, and caffeinated beverages are of course listed as one of the taboos. This is mainly because pregnant women metabolize caffeine slowly, so caffeine stays in the body for a longer time, and the fetus in the womb also needs to wait until about eight or nine months before it can clear caffeine from the blood through metabolism.
4. Children
Because children's livers and kidneys are not fully developed and their detoxification ability is poor, the half-life of caffeine metabolism is prolonged. Therefore, generally speaking, children under 12 years old need to be prohibited from ingesting caffeine. Even Westerners who drink coffee all day as if it were water also have very strict restrictions on children drinking coffee.
The above are the benefits and drawbacks that drinking coffee can bring. After reading this, will you be able to drink coffee correctly? Some people say that due to some special reasons they have no choice but to drink coffee often or in large amounts. Here the editor solemnly reminds you that the body is the foundation of everything, and we can use other substitutes to replace coffee.
The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.
