The results of epidemiological research suggest that coffee consumption may help prevent several chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes mellitus (Van Dam & Hu, 2005), Pakinson’s disease (Ascherio & Chen, 2003) and Liver disease (La Vecchia, 2005)
Coffee is a complex mixture of natural chemicals that provides significant amount of chlorogenic acid and caffeine. Caffeine is probably the most well known ingredient of coffee that has a variety of pharmacological effects with respect to mood, cognitive performance and motor activity. Chlorogenic acid, the major antioxidant of coffee is a type of polyphenols ( a type of phytochemical) that occur naturally in nature.
On average, one sachet of instant coffee provides approximately 316mg of polyphenols.
This photochemical is moderate in activity for polyphenols and is much better as an antioxidant than black tea (Shahrzad et al, 2001). The American drinks so much of coffee that coffee has been the number one source of antioxidant in the US diet (Vinson et al, 2006), and this is also true in Norway and Spain (Svilaas et al, 2004; Pulido et al, 2003)
… coffee drinking has been associated with the reduction in risk from heart desease and gout.
Quite recently coffee drinking has been associated with reduction in risk from heart disease and gout. Gout is an intensely painful disorder caused by the build up of uric acid. Although it affect both sexes, men are much more likely to suffer from gout.
Other than gout, uric acid also a risk factor for coronary heart disease. Uric acid is positively correlated with aortal intimal media thickness, a measure of artherosclerosis, in human (Erdogan et al, 2005).
A study in Japan examined the relationship of coffee drinking and serum uric acid indicated a clear inverse relationship between coffee consumption and serum uric in human (Kiyohara et al, 1999). In Poland, a study found that coffee drinkers had lower serum uric acid than non-drinkers and there was a negative correlation between them. elevated serum uric acid concentration was positively correlated with elevated blood pressure and increased body mass index (Olak-Bialon et al, 2004). These studies suggest that polyphenols in coffee, when ingested in sufficient quantity may act as protective antioxidants, in addition to other beneficial mechanisms. Many of these mechanisms are still under scientific investigations.
There is little evidence of health risks for adults who consume moderate amount of coffee (3-4 cups a day, providing 300-400mg of caffeine a day). The negative view on coffee consumption came about after a study showed that boiled coffee increased lipid in humans (Bonita et al, 2007). Only heavy consumption of boiled unfiltered coffee is harmful (that is more than 6 cups a day) to the heart that is related to plasma cholesterol and LDL increase. This negative effect is not encountered in filtered instant coffee.
Some group, however, including people with hypertension and the elderly (above 65 years old), may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of caffeine (James, 2004). It would be prudent for women who are pregnant, lactating or planning to become pregnant to limit coffee consumption to 3 cups a day providing no more than 300mg of caffeine per day (Nawrot et al, 2003). The rest of us, moderate amount of coffee (3-4 cups a day) is recommended for the maintenance of good health. However, if you are a man aged 40 and above, consumption of four to five cups of coffee per day has been shown to reduce the risk of gout by 40%, while six or more cups were associated with 59% lower gout risk compared to men who never drank coffee (Choi et al, 2008). This benefit has been attributed to the chlorogenic acid, a potent antioxidant of coffee.
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