|
Coffee Research- Excellent site about coffee!
What About Caffeine and Decaffeination?(PDF file)
Coffee: A new health drink?
Are you ready? Coffee, not known as a health tonic, is now hailed for its wide-ranging health benefits.
Here's what you need to know:
Heart Saver: A large new Harvard study found no increased heart attacks in longtime coffee drinkers. More remarkable: Coffee may save lives. Women ages 55 to 69 who drank 1 to 3 cups a day were 24% less likely to die of heart disease than non-coffee drinkers, says a new analysis of the Iowa Women's Health Study of 27,000 women. Indeed, their odds of dying from any cause during the study decreased about 15%.
Liver Protector: Coffee, even in very low doses, appears to protect the liver. Kaiser Permanente researchers found less cirrhosis in heavy alcohol users who also consumed coffee. Drinking less than a cup a day cut risk of cirrhosis by 30%, and 4 or more cups cut it by a remarkable 80%, compared with drinking none.
Diabetes foe: Drinking lots of coffee slashed risk of type 2 diabetes in recent studies. At Harvard, men drinking 6 or more cups of caffeinated coffee every day had half the risk of type 2 diabetes as non-coffee drinkers. In women, 6 or more cups daily cut risk by 30%. Even decaf cut odds somewhat.
Parkinson's fighter: Coffee drinkers are about one-third less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, say Harvard investigators. Italian research found a steeper drop of 80%.
Still, researchers don't recommend guzzling more coffee, because it can be harmful to some, promoting headaches, insomnia, anxiety and even heart attacks in individuals who are especially suspectible to caffeine. For specific advice, consult your doctor.
Tree to Cup
A great tasting cup of coffee begins with nature, and from there goes through a series of steps before it reaches your cup.
Strong relationships and educated suppliers ensure consistently, high quality coffee; and patience and a long term commitment to quality is key as it can take up to 5 years for a coffee tree to mature and produce its first beans for harvesting.
You may not realize that coffee beans are not really beans at all. They’re actually the seeds of coffee cherries that grow on trees. Each coffee tree only yields enough cherries for about one pound of roasted coffee per year. An experienced cherry picker can pick as much as 200 pounds of coffee cherries in a single day.
After the picking and harvesting, the cherries must then be processed to get to the bean. The surrounding fruit and protective layers that make up the cherry are removed. Once freed from the cherry, the green coffee beans are cleaned, removed of defects, and then classified on a number of quality criteria, including their size and color.
The next step is roasting, which transforms green coffee beans into the familiar, rich, mocha-colored beans. During this process, the beans undergo both chemical and physical changes and evolve from green to yellow to brown as they are evenly roasted by forced hot air. At approximately 400 degrees Fahrenheit, the beans begin to turn brown and the sugar in the beans caramelizes; producing the smooth, sweet flavor of a great cup of coffee.
Coffee and Antioxidants
July 1, 2004
Numerous studies have suggested that coffee may be one of nature’s most plentiful sources for antioxidants. Polyphenolic compounds, called flavenoids, have antioxidant properties which are important for disease protection, and are found naturally in the raw coffee beans. In a study, conducted by the Alliance for Aging Research, a non-profit senior citizens group in Washington DC, researchers said that a diet rich in antioxidants is effective in guarding against heart disease, cancer, cataracts, and other conditions associated with aging.
Studies have also shown that during the coffee roasting process, these important antioxidants (primarily Vitamin C and E) are not lost or damaged. In a study that analyzed 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers found that drinking one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk (by single digits) as compared to those who do not partake in America's favorite morning drink.
Other studies have shown coffee aids in preventing Parkinson's disease and colon cancer. Research shows that coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful," says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own medical research and tracks coffee studies from around the world. "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good."
More Coffee Health Benefits
January 10, 2004
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health say in a new study that people who drink more than six cups of coffee a day may be doing a lot more than keeping themselves awake - this kind of consumption apparently also can help reduce the risk of diabetes.
This study found that men who drank more than six cups of caffeinated coffee a day cut their risk of diabetes by more than half, while women reduced their risk by 30 percent. Caffeine-free coffee doesn't seem to have the same effect.
The research, which was published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, isn't specific about the cause of the effect -- because the scientists don't seem to understand why caffeine can help reduce the risk of diabetes beyond them fact that it affects how the body processes sugar. But since 15 million Americans suffer from type-II diabetes, which is the sixth leading cause of death in the US and can lead to heart disease, stroke, blindness, limb loss and other disabilities, the implications of this study are significant.
The coffee industry is struggling with lagging sales; and according to ACNielsen, supermarket and mass market sales of coffees declined by 1% last year. These findings, coupled with recent studies linking coffee drinking, of less than 24 oz. per day, to declines in both bladder and colon cancers may well the new marketing strategy needed to attract new drinkers.
Forget Juan Valdez in the mountains of Columbia - the new ads may well tout aroma, flavor and the Fountain of Youth!
Coffee'll Put Hair on Your Chest
| Prepared Foods November 29, 2004 enewsletter
Caffeine products can stop men from going bald, according to a German study.
Prof. Peter Elsner, part of the team at the Jena University, said that the stimulant has the most effect on men whose hair roots were very sensitive to testosterone, one of the causes of hair loss.
For the maximum effect, though, consumers will have to love their coffee. Noticeable effects would require 60 to 80 cups of coffee a day, one expert said. Of course, there is another option, according to researchers: smear caffeine products directly onto the scalp.
|
|
