Addiction Goes Awry

[lord]

Channel News Asia
Time is GMT + 8 hours
Posted: 20 October 2004 0917 hrs


Coffee linked to cardiovascular inflammation: study

WASHINGTON: Drinking more than one cup of coffee a day appears to be linked to cardiovascular inflammation, which could lead to heart disease, said a study released Tuesday.

Researchers in Greece studied some 3,000 people, roughly half men and half women, and found that healthy adults who drank more than 200 milliliters (seven ounces) of coffee tested higher for a variety of indicators of inflammation.

The scientists said the findings held even after taking into account other factors: age, sex, smoking and obesity.

The study, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said the findings could help explain the effects of increased coffee consumption.

Participants in the study filled out questionnaires to indicate how much coffee they drank, and gave blood samples while fasting to test for five markers of inflammation. - AFP

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I drink atleast 2 cups of this magic portion in the morning and 1 in the evening. Now, looks like I have to quit.

[krystle]

Who to believe? Go figure....


Coffee Health Myths Explained
by Ryan Jacobs | Print Friendly Version | Email This Article

For a long, long time, researchers have been investigating the impact drinking coffee has on the human body. This article focuses on some of the more common misconceptions related to coffee and health. It is important to realize what the studies are actually saying and not to draw incorrect conclusions based on reading the study.

1. Unfiltered Coffee Increases Health Risks

Two recent studies have been published citing that drinking coffee which is unfiltered as in the French Press method are associated with an increase in LDL (bad) cholesterol and or homocysteine levels.

The first study, by Dr. Marina Grubben et al, published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition was conducted in the Netherlands. It involved studying 64 healthy adults drinking six large cups of unfiltered coffee or another beverage during a two week period. The results showed that there was an increase in homocysteine levels of 10% in individuals who consumed the unfiltered coffee. They linked this to an increased risk for heart disease by 10%.

In another study, participants drank unfiltered coffee for two weeks and were compared to those who drank filtered coffee. There was an increase in serum LDL cholesterol of 2mg/dl for those drinking unfiltered coffee. After two weeks, they switched to filtered coffee and the serum cholesterol returned to baseline.

These studies, while interesting, don't tell us anything about long term effects. A two week study does not give us an answer to the long term risk of drinking unfiltered coffee. In the homocysteine related study, the control group didn't even drink coffee. Yet the way this has been reported is that it is healthier to drink filtered coffee. A more recent study has shown that homocysteine levels did not drop when drinking filtered coffee. There has been trouble isolating the cause. Is it the caffeine? Who knows? More research is needed.

2. Coffee Leads To Heart Disease

It has long been thought that coffee, as a stimulant, would lead to various forms of heart disease. The recent literature. however, suggests that coffee is safe in moderate doses. Recently, one researcher, Warren G. Thompson, M.D., noted in a 1994 literature review on this subject: "The largest and better studies suggest that coffee is not a major risk factor for coronary disease."

Additionally, a major study conducted by Willet, et al., examined data collected from more than 85,000 women over a 10-year period. Upon adjusting the data for known risk factors such as smoking, they found no increased risk of CVD for women who drank six or more cups of coffee per day.

A 1990 study by Diedrich, et al., looked at 45,000 men. It found no link between coffee, caffeine and CVD in men who drank four or more cups of coffee per day.

3. Coffee Causes Ulcers

Often times, when people see me drinking a cup of coffee -- they give the warning "You shouldn't drink coffee, it will give you ulcers." The thinking, until recently, was that excess stomach acid caused ulcers and that coffee would contribute to the stomach acid. Recent studies however show that most ulcers are caused by a particular bacteria, namely Helicobacter pylori . Those ulcers can be cured easily with antibiotics. An important distinction to make is that while coffee or spicy foods for that matter don't cause the ulcers, they may serve to aggravate existing ulcers.

4. Coffee Is Bad For Reproductive Health

Miscarriage, low birth weight, infertility. These are all commonly associated with being increased with coffee consumption. However, there has been little convincing evidence that a moderate amount of caffeine during pregnancy will cause these conditions.

Scientists have had trouble linking consumption of coffee to miscarriage. There are many confounders in this area. As an example, it has been found that women who don't experience nausea during pregnancy are more likely to miscarry. This could be due to them being less likely to stay away from foods and beverages that cause nausea. Therefore, coffee could be lumped in together with many other things that are consumed that should be avoided.

Low birth weight in children has not been proven even at high caffeine consumption levels in women. A 1993 study by Larroque, et. al., found that women who consumed more than 800 mg of caffeine daily had no greater risk than women who did not.

Furthermore, studies have also shown that women who drink more than three cups of coffee daily are at no increase risk of infertility or delayed conception.

Conclusion

Certainly, there have been many other studies conducted on coffee and health and many more will be performed in the future. But before you jump to the conclusion that you are going to die a premature death, read the article a little closer and seek out related articles to see if there is conflicting data. And in the meantime, enjoy your coffee in moderation.

[lord]

i think the key word here is moderation. but the problem with me is that for the past year or so, i've got this craving to have 2 cups in the morning instead of 1 which was the usual dose. i know it's bad especially when i normally take it black with no sugar. now, the tricky part is to give it up completely, i knew this was coming sooner or later. to go on moderation will not work cos from 3 cups a day, i'll have 2 and say that's moderation for me.

[Pets=Friends]

What about the effects of drinking coffee (nescafe) vs kopi (kapal api). Anybody notice any difference besides the taste, does your body feel any different. My po-po (grandma) used to feed me a steady staple of kopi every morning since I was 9 and she herself lived to a ripe old age of 90. But once a while we would take cappucinno, expresso, ice blended and then the body immediately goes into hyperdrive, your pulse rate increases, feel like throwing up, very restless.

[lord]

as a coffee addict, i have tried almost all the branded once and the kapal apis of this world. let me share something, the coffee my mom buys in front of taiping kfc from this old chinese man who grinds them everyday is still the best coffee i've ever had. the 'boutique' coffees in starbucks and coffee bean can never match the taste of the ground coffee, to my taste.

but of course, i do enjoy a 9.00 rgt mocha latte once in a while, which i sip like liquid gold.

have you guys tried dipping chow-kwai (that double barrel dough stuff which is deep fried and you have for breakfast) in ground coffee? man, talk about heaven on earth, that has got to be it. though after 2 barrels, you find oil in your coffee but then again, they do meet each other in your tummy after all.

i've even had murruku thrown in them and they taste fantastic. for more ways to have your cuppa, pls pm me .

KFC uncle's coffee rules, mannn

[Pets=Friends]

How about half boiled eggs in coffee, seriously I've seen people done it in kopitiams.

Ahhhh....chow-kwai dip in coffee is a personal favourite.

[lord]

ahh... another connoisseur.

have tried coffee with raw egg but threw up later . just couldn't stomach it lah..

[KH EE]

milo with a raw egg is better... keeps it up...

[lord]

so i guess, you ARE extending your family then, KHEE

dunno bout milo with raw egg, but stout with raw egg gotlah. i threw up
that one also .

but hey, let's stick to coffee la and not aphrodisiacs

[KH EE]

tried a lot of 3-in-1 instant coffee & kopiko, to me, is tops... even better than nescafe... unfortunately the price has shot up from rm5.99 for a packet of 30's to rm9.00+ now hv "withdrawn" to cheaper alternatives...