Coffee in Moderation
Whether you are hooked on Starbucks or Tim Horton’s or your favorite home brew, you have probably asked yourself “is drinking coffee helping me or hurting me?”. The answer is that it’s probably not hurting you and it is likely helping you--but the data are still limited and inconclusive. Besides the obvious benefits of improved energy, memory and stamina, some studies have indicated that coffee can reduce the risk of some cancers if consumed at moderate levels (less than 5 cups per day). Some of the specific cancers studied with regard to coffee consumption include colon, endometrial, pancreatic, liver and bladder cancers.
Good Source of Antioxidants
Drinking coffee supplies your body with a healthy dose of disease-preventing antioxidants. The specific plant chemicals abundant in coffee include caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, cafestol, and kahweol and a host of polyphenolic compounds (many of these are also found in red wine, dark chocolate, nuts and green tea).
Caffeine
Each 8-ounce cup of coffee contains approximately 80 to 135 milligrams of caffeine (depending on the strength). A recent study published in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" investigated the associations between breast cancer and caffeine consumption. The study found no overall risk between caffeine consumption and risk of breast cancer but found an increased risk for breast cancer among women with benign breast disease (chronic inflammation, fibrocystic benign breast disease and painful breasts) who consumed the highest quantities of caffeine and those who consumed the most coffee (greater than 4 cups) each day. Keep in mind that caffeine is also found in tea, soft drinks, chocolate and some medications; therefore, you could be consuming more caffeine than you think. To put this into perspective, a “tall” coffee of the day at Starbucks (12 ounces of coffee, which is equivalent to 1½ cups) contains 260 mg of caffeine; a “venti” coffee at Starbucks (20 ounces of coffee, which is equivalent to 2½ cups of coffee), provides 415 mg of caffeine. You can still enjoy a coffee beverage while lowering your caffeine consumption by choosing a cappuccino or caffé latte, where the caffeine content is more than cut in half for the same size beverage (75 mg of caffeine in a “tall” and 150 mg of caffeine in a “venti”).
In summary, like most things in life, it comes down to moderation. The current research does not appear to suggest an increase in cancer risk when coffee is consumed in moderate amounts each day (less than 4 or 5 cups).
Source Taken From Livestrong Website
Whether you are hooked on Starbucks or Tim Horton’s or your favorite home brew, you have probably asked yourself “is drinking coffee helping me or hurting me?”. The answer is that it’s probably not hurting you and it is likely helping you--but the data are still limited and inconclusive. Besides the obvious benefits of improved energy, memory and stamina, some studies have indicated that coffee can reduce the risk of some cancers if consumed at moderate levels (less than 5 cups per day). Some of the specific cancers studied with regard to coffee consumption include colon, endometrial, pancreatic, liver and bladder cancers.
Good Source of Antioxidants
Drinking coffee supplies your body with a healthy dose of disease-preventing antioxidants. The specific plant chemicals abundant in coffee include caffeic acid, chlorogenic acid, cafestol, and kahweol and a host of polyphenolic compounds (many of these are also found in red wine, dark chocolate, nuts and green tea).
Caffeine
Each 8-ounce cup of coffee contains approximately 80 to 135 milligrams of caffeine (depending on the strength). A recent study published in the "Journal of Clinical Oncology" investigated the associations between breast cancer and caffeine consumption. The study found no overall risk between caffeine consumption and risk of breast cancer but found an increased risk for breast cancer among women with benign breast disease (chronic inflammation, fibrocystic benign breast disease and painful breasts) who consumed the highest quantities of caffeine and those who consumed the most coffee (greater than 4 cups) each day. Keep in mind that caffeine is also found in tea, soft drinks, chocolate and some medications; therefore, you could be consuming more caffeine than you think. To put this into perspective, a “tall” coffee of the day at Starbucks (12 ounces of coffee, which is equivalent to 1½ cups) contains 260 mg of caffeine; a “venti” coffee at Starbucks (20 ounces of coffee, which is equivalent to 2½ cups of coffee), provides 415 mg of caffeine. You can still enjoy a coffee beverage while lowering your caffeine consumption by choosing a cappuccino or caffé latte, where the caffeine content is more than cut in half for the same size beverage (75 mg of caffeine in a “tall” and 150 mg of caffeine in a “venti”).
In summary, like most things in life, it comes down to moderation. The current research does not appear to suggest an increase in cancer risk when coffee is consumed in moderate amounts each day (less than 4 or 5 cups).
Source Taken From Livestrong Website
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