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Coffee is a "Health Drink"
WoodenRobot writes "Not that it would stop an Italian or a techie from drinking the stuff, but Chiara Trombetti, of the Humanitas Gavazzeni institute of Bergamo has reported that coffee, especially espresso, is good for you and provides numerous health benefits. All the more reason to tuck into a cup o' Joe - but no more than 3 or 4 cups a day."
Yes i read about it in a news magazine, that regular coffee drinkers are not so often in the group of persons who will suffer of the Alzheimer's disease when they are old.
Spelling mistakes: My is english spoken not tongue of mother.
I had been using coffee, as well as water, as my preferred headache cure for quite a while.
However, caffiene withdrawl also creates headaches, and the article is a little on the vague side to suggest otherwise.
Most of the other news (antioxidants, tannin, good for the liver, and asthma relief) are pretty awesome, though. Again, I'd rather see this in more details - and I can't find any English links referring to dietician Chiara Trombetti.
Definitely good news for nerds and latte addicts everywhere.
-m.
Is it me or is coffee becoming more and more boring? Even starbucks can't turn me into a coffee drinker again.
Caffeine is not as strong as ephedrine, but it still works in some what the same way.
:)
If that is not enough a good dose of lack of sleep will make anyone lose weight
it's the matter of pros and cons - like for every thing in our lives. some aspect of coffe are good to healt some are bad. thats just the way things are in life :-)
Well, those aren't too hard to find...
Happiness is like peeing yourself. Everybody can see it but only you can feel its warmth.
I've found that post-migrane consumption of coffee helps me out a lot. Perhaps this is an excuse to start drinking the stuff like water.
This is not the sig you're looking for.
Don't forget that the longer coffee beans are roasted, any coffee brewed from them will have less caffeine. Of course, darker roasted coffee tends to be more bitter and possibly more acidic (especially true of steam-brewed coffees, such as espresso). But, the tiny bit of acid and tannins in coffee is probably nothing compared to the damage done by caffeine (hey, I'm an addict - I live with it).
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Same thing as the Atkins Diet - Animal Rights groups didn't like The Atkins Diet - protein = meat - so they put out a bogus study that Atkins died because of Atkins.
Same thing happen with beer/alchohol - one week a study will come out that says beer is bad, next week "binge drinking" is epidemic or drunk driving is on the rise.
When stories are reported like this it should be a requirement for the journalist to cite the sources and the backgrounds of those sources should be published in the footnotes so "true thinkers" can easily pick up on propoganda.
Yell & scream & rant & rave... it's no use... you need a shaaaave ~ Bugs Bunny
Generalisations are GENERALLY right. There are ALWAYS exceptions.
I used to work in a cafe, and I learnt quick when an american asks for an espresso he wants a small shot of coffee. When an italian asked for an espresso he wanted the first teaspoon of water out of the machine, which was black as night and as strong as tar.
My GENERAL experience with Italians and coffee is that they like it strong enough to strip paint. Just like GENERALLY Irish prefer tea, or nerds prefer jolt.
I thought teas had theobromine, which was a stronger caffeine relative, not caffeine itself.
In reply to the parent, don't start. Caffeine addiction is one of the most widespread going, and like most habits, most people don't notice their addiction until they can't stop.
My cousin stopped drinking it years ago. Within a month, the bags under his eyes disappeared, probably from the corollary effect of actually going to bed on time.
Unfortunately, I do really like the stuff, so call me a hypocrite...
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Death will come, and will have your eyes
-- Pavese
Not that I take any of this to seriously but there's far more evidence for the health value of tea (especially green tea) and the downside is much less.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
(Initial text of the article:)
Coffee-breaks sabotage employees' abilities
18:41 13 February 04 NewScientist.com news service Taking a coffee break at work may actually sabotage employees' ability to do their jobs and undermine teamwork instead of boosting it, suggests new research. Dosing up on caffeine is particularly unhelpful to men, disrupting their emotions and hampering their ability to do certain tasks, suggests a report by psychologists Lindsay St Claire and Peter Rogers at Bristol University in the UK. Many people take coffee breaks at work believing this will reduce their feelings of stress. But theories about the effects of caffeine are conflicting. Some studies suggest caffeine can worsen anxiety and trigger stress, while others show it boosts confidence, alertness and sociability, making certain tasks easier. But this latest report, released by the UK's Economic and Social Research Council on Friday, backs the view that coffee exacerbates stress, especially in men, and makes people less co-operative when working in teams. "Our research findings suggest that the commonplace tea or coffee break might backfire in business situations, particularly where men are concerned," says St Claire. "Far from reducing stress, it might actually make things worse."
Intelligent Design: because MATH is HARD.
Freshly ground coffee in a coffee press is just dynamite!
Pretty much whatever kind of coffee beans you can get is way better than pre-ground coffee, as it loses a lot of its aroma during the grinding/packaging/etc process.
I certainly didn't regret buying that coffee grinder.
Very true. You might find Coffee Health Myths Explained and Google Cache version of a government study interesting. I guess when it comes to socially-accepted "drugs", there's always a lot of FUD involved.
Red face, palpitations, slight paranoia and bizarrely, extreme short-sightedness (I normally have 20-20 vision). Wore off after 3-4 hours but it was scary as hell.
When I am king, you will be first against the wall.
Some things are healthy for the body, some things are healthy for the mind, and what's good for the body is not necessarily good for the mind and vice-versa.
For instance, during my finals at university getting blindingly drunk at the weekends was probably very bad for my body, but it really helped my mind. It got rid of the stress and I felt fresh again going back to my study. I'm not joking, I think it really helped.
It's like some people can't function properly unless they've had a coffee or a ciggie. May not be healthy for their body, but it helps their mind function.
Civet Coffeee--made from coffe beans that have been partially digested and excreted by the Civet (of SARS fame). Read more here. Freaky.
A publicly traded company exists solely to make profits for shareholders.
well, I wouldn't get a triple expresso in starbucks. I'm a regular starbucks drinker (twice a day). The starbucks french roast is OK, but it's nothing to scream about. I'd much rather get a real Italian or French roast and just have a good expresso or real latte. All things considered, Starbucks is way better than the alternative. Dunkin Doughnuts for example is more sugar than coffe and is totally horrible. Now new englanders drink that DD coffee is beyond me. Personally, an authentic Vietnamnese ice coffee rocks. Thai ice coffee is good too. That's some really strong and flavorful stuff.
I'm Italian, and I don't drink coffee. And I certainly don't appreciate a story that portrays us (or technies for that matter) as coffee-swillers.
Dude, the fact remains that in the last Euro statistics I have red Italians were #1 household coffe drinkers ("expresso") and Portuguese were #1 out-of-house coffee drinkers (also "expresso").
Look at it this way: you might not drink coffee, but at least enjoy with the fact that if you did drink it you would be able to drink good one and not some creamed-watered-gigatic-soup-like mess.
you do know that the lighter the coffie the more caffine there is right?
I am the Alpha and the Omega-3
Some Tea's are higher in caffeine than coffee
Please name a type of tea that is higher in caffeine than coffee (per serving or cup, or however you want to define it).
Unless you're suggesting to "brew the Earl Grey a little stronger". In which case, I'll respond, "brew my coffee a little stronger".
Frank Zappa was also a chain smoker who refused to eat correctly after being diagnosed with cancer, preferring to smoke more cigarettes to relieve his hunger pains instead of eating. That contributed to his rapid health decline more than anything.
It doesn't mean much now, it's built for the future.
which proves my point that coffee extends your life... not by adding more years to the end of it, when you're old and frail, but by giving you more of it now. time that would normally be wasted in sleep is yours to live with coffee!
witness: if you drink enough coffee to get by on 6.5 hours of sleep rather than 8 then, after 35 years of continuous use you will have extended your life by a full two years ((35*365*1.5)/24/365 = 798)
it's true.
2 1337 4 u!
Cocaine is healthy in its natural form (chewed leaf or leaves used as a tea). It took "intelligent" white man to reduce it to a hydrochloride salt and ruin it. In its natural form it is very nutritious (the highest amount of calcium in any plant known, for starters) and does not cause problems because the high isn't a rapid up after snorting it and a rapid down after it wears off, leaving you craving more. Chewed or used as a tea it comes on slow, lasts all day, and wears off by night.
Found something more from the site of Humanitas Gavazzeni institute:
.html? id_p=84
The article quoted by BBC:
http://www.humanitasalute.it/int_focus.html? id_p=9 45
Another article on similar subjet, from a few months ago:
http://www.humanitasalute.it/int_stilidivita
Google translation of the first article (with a bit of editing from me):
Coffee, all the health in three cups
The liver helps, alleviates badly of head is effective against the asthma crises. Defects? Not to misuse of.
Million Italians go crazy for the aroma of the coffee, but they believe features of one bad habit, because often the searches of it put in evidence only the negative characteristics and never those positive ones. Many ignore it but the coffee has also many effects benefits for the health and is one promoted drink to full ballots in food habits, pact not to misuse of and not to exceed the three or four cups to the day.
Some cup to the day, in fact, is to greet for the arteries, for the liver, it helps the line and it alleviates badly of head is that features of expressed, American or prepared coffee with the moka and, moreover, do not have calories practically.
We make the point with Chiara Trombetti , dietologist of Humanitas Gavazzeni of Bergamo.
Which are the benefits of the coffee on the health?
"Coffee" Chiara Trombetti explains "helps to protect the arteries because it contains some elements like the tannin and other polifenoli that have a anti-oxidant power, four times more effective than one cup of green tea. Moreover, he is a friend of the liver because it contributes to prevent of some diseases like the cirrosi hepatic and the biliary calculosis thanks to the diterpeni (kawehol and cafestol), substances that have the ability protect and to reinforce epatociti (the cells of the liver) from the aggressions of these diseases. In particular, it is above all the coffee prepared with the moka and tasted bitter that, sipped after the meal, the liver in the digestion helps. The coffee, then, continues Chiara Trombetti "may help during the asthma crises because caffein has a broncodilatatore effect and reduces, therefore, the strain of respiratory muscles improving the exhaled volume (until quite to two hours after drinking one cup). Finally, to the contrary of what commonly it is believed, the coffee badly alleviates of head thanks to its vasocostrittore power (shrinks is gone blood) and is slightly analgesic. To case in medicinal ones made up of paracetamolo (it does not use you as pain-killers) is contained also caffein.
And is it true that helps also to maintain the shape?
"coffee's caffein" continues Chiara Trombetti "contains a stimulating substance that contributes to accelerate the metabolism immediately rendering the fat people available like energy for physical activity. For this it has an important role in the maintenance of the shape. If, in fact, beyond following a diet a coffee cup is consumed then to fine meal engaging itself for approximately half an hour in the movement, the fat people assumed with their food come burn to you with more facility. Moreover, the coffee does not add calories to the diet because a cup without added milk or sugar does not exceed the two calories.
But a type of coffee is worth another?
"actually is several types of coffee and they are not all equal one" it clears Chiara Trombetti. "espresso it more contains elevated doses of caffein regarding that one prepared with the moka and maintains its beneficial property stable, while in the second they are flown them, therefore, for trarne the advantages, is advisable to drink endured it after to have prepared it. The coffee American , instead, is thought from much less strongly than espresso and 'acquoso'. In truth, it contains the caffein double quantity and it is a valid aid in order to maintain high attention, but the present caffein amount is better not to exceed the two glasies to the seen day. That one d? I luff, t
In the long run we are all dead. - John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946)
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Together, we will drive the rats from the tundra.
Coffee might be a powerfull drug but it's sort of like smoking. Quitting it can be hard because of habit not the actual drinking.
... but compare it to smokes and your set
When you make a pot of coffee the house has that nice coffee smell and even to pour the coffee into your mug has that nice sound. The first sip in the morning etc etc.
Coffee as an addiction is more of a mental thing then it is a physical thing. Same with smoking.
Don't compare coffee to coke
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Coffee drinking is like gambling or smoking -- if you don't develop a taste for it, you'll be better off and the only thing you'll miss out on is satisfying cravings you don't have in the first place.
Sorry, but that *isn't* the only thing that you'll miss out on. You'll also miss out on the experience of a wonderful food/drink that has been hugely valued by man since its discovery in Ethiopia around a thousand years ago.
You could say exactly the same thing about fine wine, and if you say it loud enough and often enough, you might eventually convince yourself that you're right.
Meanwhile, the rest of us will go on enjoying the complex delights of a fine, single estate arabica, or a good espresso blend, with beans roasted in the Northern Italian style -- and our lives will go on being all the richer for it.
Reminds me of when I used to pull CQ duty (night watch, basically) in the army at Ft. Devens. It was the CQ's job to make the coffee for the company admin staff (sergeants and officers all). The staff always liked when I made the coffee because, instead of following the directions on the coffee can which said "8 scoops", I would shovel something like twenty scoops into the percolator basket. The stuff came out so thick that no amount of creamer would lighten its color. It was nasty stuff (I couldn't drink it) but those coffee-addict sergeants raved over it. I never did tell anyone the "secret recipe".
If a job's not worth doing, it's not worth doing right.
You say that jokingly, but the Bush administration said almost this exact same thing to the United Nations:
"The (U.S. government) favors dietary guidance that focuses on the total diet, promotes the view that all foods can be part of a healthy and balanced diet"
You can read the full article here.
I'm glad they point out that caffeine isn't for everyone. Some of us suffer from anxiety disorders and caffeine is definitely not helpful. I'm fortunate that I don't have an issue with it anymore, but I could some day.
Frankly, tea (black and green) are much better for you than coffee in terms of the anti-oxidants. Tea is loaded with them, with or without caffeine. Tea also has flavonoids which on top of being an anti-oxidant, is also acts as a vasodilator, making the arteries more flexible and less likely to rupture, something important for people with high blood pressure.
And the benefits don't end with cancer and the heart. Tea also makes the bones (and teeth) stronger. In fact, it's been shown to reduce the damage caused by osteoperosis.
So, while I enjoy my occasional cup of coffee, I'll continue to drink my 6-8 cups of tea a day.
I've always loved that! Seeing someone act all wired after an espresso and yet perfectly normal at other times after two or three cups of the regular stuff.
It's psychological. The stronger the taste, the stronger people think it is.
I've also had people refuse to believe it. Whatever.
Stupid sexy Flanders.
So, when is the last time somebody pulled a home invasion and killed a family to get money to buy coffee? I mean, I'm kind of scary in the moring before my first cup, but seriously...
Someday a real rain is gonna come...
I'm pretty sure someone in this crowd remembers these studies as well. Problem is people will do anything to justify their habits whether they are bad or not. Sure coffee is good for your health, take 5-6 cups per day, you'll be far more productive, but hey don't blame the drink if you get hedgy a lot more often, get more headaches than the average people, grown more intolerant and phobic and have already been diagnosed for a couple burn outs.
Looking in the mirror honestly, now that is a problem everyone have and can't seem to do. Wonder why?
Not to be mean, but these little fluff science pieces just don't cut it. These days, knowing how the popular media spit out "science" reports without checking it, this item could be junk science for all I know unless I see the hard data including a serious peer review to cross check the findings.
/. ?? You guys are putting me to sleep with dull items like this. I need another cup of coffee.
A coffee review on
"So what's wrong with your coffee habit? How about low energy, extra stress, mineral depletion, exhausted adrenal glands, indigestion, anxiety and mood swings":
Caffeine, Grounds for Concern?
Heh? I keep forgetting that on slashdot you have to parse every statement down to the last possible interpretation so the other readers don't get too cranky. I get news from as many different sources/perspectives as I can. While there is surely not a home invasion every night in every neighborhood, you can't really deny the fact that there is quite a bit of crime being committed in this country to fund drug habits. If there were indeed only one violent crime per year connected to cocaine, it would still be more than the number connected to coffee. I was merely pointing out that cocaine comes with a whole host of connected social ills and that it was absurd to compare it to coffee. Sorry to confuse anyone.
Someday a real rain is gonna come...
The healthier you are the less sleep you require. For instance I stopped smoking cigarettes, stopped drinking daily, and switched from coffee to tea. That with my switch into a 95%+ non animal protein, 3-4 fruits a day, and plenty of veggies has made me a cheerful bastard in the morning after 5-6 hours of sleep as opposed to the 7-10 hours I required before. Add years to your life and more time in the day by treating your body well.
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According to this it may be best to drink six cups or more. Whod've thought?
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Eh, scary? Has no one on slashdot been given 'child coffee' or 'coffee wrong' when they were young? (sorry, literal translations from Dutch because I do not know the English terms).
It is exactly the same stuff as described in the article: lots of milk and sugar and little coffee. It is given to childeren (or drank by people with 'immature' taste). No evil effects and/or conspiracies are reported.
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If you drink too much it can increase nervousness, and cause rapid heartbeat and trembling hands.
Wow... did not know that.
I happened to watch something more informative but less optimistic about coffee last night on PBS.
This was Dr. Perricone who has a diet book and all that.
There are plenty of reasons not to drink coffee. Coffee (and not necessarily just caffeine) elevates the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is a "stress" hormone that is needed but can do nasty stuff like:
Now what is recommended is green tea which is loaded with anti-oxidants, much more than coffee. It also has the caffeine without the cortisol raising effect.
I've been trying to get into green tea but it's just not the same as coffee.
In fact, I'm about to get a cup of joe right now...
If it's that addictive it can't be good for you.
if you drink enough coffee to get by on 6.5 hours of sleep rather than 8 then, after 35 years of continuous use you will have extended your life by a full two years ((35*365*1.5)/24/365 = 798)
It's better than that. We spend on average one third of our lives asleep. Therefore the two years of waking life you get by drinking coffee, is worth three years of normal life.
Hold on, it get's even better.
We spend another third of our normal lives at work. Of the remaining eight hours a day, I would estimate we waste four of them. Cleaning up. Washing clothes. Shopping for food. Eating food. Preparing food. Preparing drinks. Watching TV. Cleaning ourselves.
So each hour of coffee time is worth two of mundane time, thus doubling our original life extension figure.
Coffee extends your life by six years.
Correcting my maths (sydb is Scottish, not American) is left as an exercise to the reader.
Yours Sincerely, Michael.
Are there others out there who aren't kept up by caffeine? I can drink a cup of coffee in the middle of the day and take a nap half-an-hour later. But then, I've fallen asleep during rock concerts.
Sorry I have to reply to this, you are just way off.
One question:
Why do you think you get a headache from expanding capillaries?
[drum roll]
Answer:
Because caffine initially "constricted" them in the first place, then you go into caffine withdrawl your capillaries start to go back to _normal_ (of which you would like to call "overdilation") you get your headache, and *boom*, caffine cures your headache... (call them tension headaches if you want, look up some unbiased research out there, there's plenty of it)