Health benefits of coffee

Health Benefits of Coffee

Numerous people regard coffee as being unhealthy and do not understand why others drink it in such large proportions. However, during the recent years scientists have shown that coffee is not harmful, and that it is actually beneficial for the human body when being drunk in normal quantities.

There is presently much controversy regarding coffee use and whether its effects are positive or negative in regard to health, especially given that it is one of the most common drinks on earth. In spite of its tolerated and wide spread in most countries in the present, coffee has a dark history behind it, considering that it even brought people on the verge of war.

The most probable source of coffee is Ethiopia, as its birthplace is believed to be somewhere at the border between Asia and Africa. According to the legend, the energizing properties of coffee were first observed by an Ethiopian goatherd, who saw that his goats acted strange after they chewed on the leaves of a particular plant. Trying the plant, its fruits and seeds himself, he discovered that it induced a weird, but pleasant feeling in him, as the legend says that "he felt that he would never be tired or grouchy again" (Pendergrast 4).

Coffee as it is presently known is believed to have been first produced around the sixteenth century, when the world had already become acquainted with it. There are presently numerous ways of preparing coffee, as some cultures (such as the various countries in the Arab world) have even specialized themselves in the domain (Pendergrast 6).

When looking at the rather peaceful emergence of coffee, one is unlikely to believe the conflicts it triggered through the ages. Some leaders believed that it had been the reason for rebellion and decided that it had to be banned, with it actually being banned for small periods of time in certain areas around the world. Coffee is however responsible for revolutions, but not because it made people act irrationally, but because they were frenetic about the profits they could make in the industry (Pendergrast xvii).

The drink was initially perceived as a refined beverage, only meant to serve as medicine for the cream of the crop. However, matters gradually changed and it reached its present status, that of providing a touch of energy and taste for all people who want it, ranging from some of the wealthiest people on earth to the exhausted lower-class worker enjoying it during his or her lunch breaks (Pendergrast xvii).

There are (and always have been) mixed feeling in regard to coffee:

The drug, caffeine, in coffee keeps many persons awake nights when they ought to be asleep. If you've found only that one annoying fault with coffee (there are others) isn't it time to quit it and use POSTUM? ... "There's a Reason" -- 1912 advertisement for Postum (Pendergrast 95)

[Coffee causes] an excessive state of brain-excitation which becomes manifest by a remarkable loquaciousness sometimes accompanied by accelerated association of ideas. It may also be observed in coffee house politicians who drink cup after cup... And by this abuse are inspired to profound wisdom on all earthly events. -- Lewis Lewin, Phantastica: Narcotic and Stimulating Drugs (1931) (Pendergrast 3)

Coffee rapidly became reputed through the centuries, becoming one of the most popular drinks during the twentieth century. In spite of its success however, the potion came to be vilified by some, as they believed it to be extremely harmful to the mental and physical health of those who drank it. A series of alternatives emerged, apparently producing the same effects and with less negative effects on health. The fact that coffee substitutes were experiencing a booming success during the first half of the twentieth century makes it obvious that the general public had actually been worried about their health, and about how coffee damaged it (Pendergrast 99).

Fueled by their need to make large profit out of their businesses, the individuals who sold coffee substitutes did not hesitate to get actively engaged in damaging coffee's image, coming up with many invented theories regarding the harmful effects of coffee. Although coffee sales were only slightly affected by coffee replacements, they did so mainly because people could not afford real coffee and were ready to settle for less (Pendergrast 99).

As a response to encountering more and more critics during their endeavor to sell coffee substitutes, most sellers abandoned the enterprise, since they became aware that their products were actually more harmful than coffee itself. Since coffee substitutes were meant to replace coffee but did not succeed in replacing its taste, decaffeinated coffee was born, making it possible for everyone to enjoy the drink's taste without risking their health condition because of the much denigrated caffeine (Pendergrast 110).

The contemporary society apparently enjoys coffee to the level that it is only surpassed by water in reputation. Matters have changed in the recent decades when concerning coffee, as it is no longer promoted or belittled on account of unconfirmed information. Studies have shown that coffee is not actually harmful to the human body when drunk with moderation, as it can have a beneficial effect on one's health (Nehlig v).

In an attempt to verify if coffee can be held responsible for sleep deficiency, researchers testing subjects by giving them large doses of coffee before they went to sleep. Instead of proving coffee to be extremely harmful when being taken before bedtime, the tests demonstrated that sleep was only negligibly affected by coffee, as the subjects slept normally, only experiencing minor losses in sleep time. Coffee can apparently affect sleep only when it is drunk in a quantity of minimum six cups per day (Snel, Tieges, and Lorist 16).

People typically drink coffee in order to awaken themselves in the morning, while it is later drunk with the purpose of inducing relaxation. Most people believe that coffee has a beneficial effect on them, as they are unwilling to believe the fact that coffee can affect sleep. It is not necessarily that coffee affects sleep, but that it is in most occasions associated with sleep deprivation affections, which should in point of fact be attributed to a traumatic and risky existence (Snel, Tieges, and Lorist 17). Instead of being blamed for causing sleep deficiency, coffee should in reality be appreciated for its potential to improve performance and attentiveness in the case of individuals who cannot sleep as they should.

People today are experts in drinking coffee, given that they know exactly the time when they should drink coffee and the exact amount they should ingest in order for the liquid to affect sleep quality as little as possible. In particular circumstances coffee can actually save lives. For example, during warfare it is beneficial for individuals who are deprived of sleep and have to be on their guard at all times, given that it was found to improve "visual vigilance, reaction time, and alertness" (Snel, Tieges, and Lorist 20), essential factors in times of conflict.

When being drunk in doses of between one and four cups per day, coffee was found to enhance cognitive activity, thus making people think more clearly than they usually do (Snel, Lorist, and Tieges 54).

Although the results found during laboratory studies cannot always be applied to real-life, it is nonetheless intriguing that most such results have put across the fact that coffee is mostly beneficial for one's health when drunk with moderation. Caffeine can improve eyesight and responsiveness to light, as subject drinking a dose of the substance between 90 and 180 mg reported an increased sensitivity to released light. Doses between 100 and 200 mg of caffeine apparently reduce the risk of weakened color discrimination, with the subjects discriminating colors to a larger degree when being under the influence of the substance. Adults are likely to improve their hearing consequent to drinking a moderate amount of coffee, as caffeine was recognized to keep the auditory and visual senses in a state of alert (Snel, Lorist, and Tieges 56).

When considering reaction time, it is uncertain whether or not caffeine has a beneficial effect or if it has no effect at all, given that studies have shown that response accuracy was improved in a number of cases involving subjects who had consumed caffeine while other subjects proved to have the same response accuracy when they were under the influence of the substance as when they had not consumed caffeine. One of the most probable reasons for which the effects of caffeine on reaction time are not convincing can be the fact that the substance effects on RT are selective, meaning that they can have little to no beneficial effects in particular circumstances (Snel, Lorist, and Tieges 56).

Logical reasoning was a sector where caffeine was found to have beneficial effects, given that subjects who were on the influence of the substance were able to distinguish between true and false statements faster and with an increased exactness. Missions involving digit or symbol replacement in contrast were found to be unaffected by caffeine, as the substance was only effective in the cases of people who were exhausted (Snel, Lorist, and Tieges 57).

The amount of caffeine being consumed is apparently of great importance, as approximately 200 mg can increase one's chances to get better results on an attentiveness performance test while an approximate of 400 mg can do the opposite. Caffeine abuse can lead to serious problems in the case of people who need to be alert. Caffeine was tested in a series of other cognitive-related experiments but none of them produced satisfying results (Snel, Lorist, and Tieges 58).

Coffee contains numerous chemicals, each of them adding to its flavor and to the effects it produces on the body, with the most notable of them being caffeine. The aroma coffee releases is surely seductive, as there is nothing else like it. From the very first moment one opens the coffee recipient numerous microscopic particles are inhaled, stimulating the olfactory nerve, this sensation getting even more intense when the brew is actually ready to be drunk. Most people will not even wait to contemplate on these factors before actually starting to drink, given that the smell makes it almost impossible to stop (Halweil).

What's ironic about people in the Occident who drink coffee is that they tend to overlook, or ignore the fact that it was produced in Third World countries. What's troubling about this is that in an attempt to generate as much profits as they possibly can, people in the coffee industry do not hesitate to deforest large areas of land in order to plant more coffee crops. This in turn has a devastating impact on the environment, thus making it more important for people in the Occident to want to learn more about where their brew is made. Sun coffee is very probable to generate large profits in the coffee business, but the costs on the environment are much higher (Halweil).

Coffee does not necessarily be raised in areas with no forest in order to make a lot of money for the people who crop it. Moreover, if being produced in safe conditions it can actually bring benefits to the environment, given that it takes in large amounts of carbon. "Worldwide, the average coffee farmer earns less than $3 a day" (Halweil). If a middle class individual in the West were to check the conditions his or her coffee was made in before actually deciding to buy it, it is likely that he or she will choose the coffee brand mentioning that it supports the environment, even if it is slightly more expensive than a regular brand.

Large portions of land in Latin America were deforested because farmers felt that this would allow them to grow more crops. However, this did not happen in most cases, and farmers were left with the same amount of crops as before and with lesser trees to take in carbon dioxide (Taylor).