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Coffee and Fat Loss, other health benefits and risks
Published By Paula Owens, MS, Nutrition on November 26, 2011
Coffee & Fat Loss
The health benefits of coffee far outweigh the risks. Coffee has already been shown to be protective against diabetes due to its effect on insulin. Researchers at Harvard Medical School say drinking coffee helps prevent diseases such as Parkinson’s, heart disease and cancer! Preliminary research findings involving coffee suggest that coffee may be protective against obesity-associated cancers, as well as those that have been associated with insulinand estrogen.
In another study, the American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementiasreported that caffeine may have a protective effect on the likelihood of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.
Pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant should avoid coffee. Offspring of mothers who consume coffee tend to have increased risks of small infants at birth. Just two cups of coffee ingested during pregnancy may be enough to affect fetal heart development and reduce heart function over the entire lifespan of the child.
Those with anxiety issues, insomniacs and adrenal fatigue should limit their intake of coffee. Coffee stimulates your adrenals, the hormones that activate your fight or flight response. If your adrenal hormones are stimulated too often, from excess caffeine consumption, youradrenal glands may eventually burn out.
Other facts to consider: Excess coffee consumption promotes dehydration. Over the long-term, excessive coffee consumption actually depletes your B vitamin and calcium supply. In addition, some women can drink all the coffee they want and not have fibrocystic breast problems, but unfortunately, women with fibrocystic breast problems are always caffeine-sensitive and should avoid coffee.
Coffee is great before exercise (pre-training), however the worst thing you can ingest after exercise (post training) unless you want a “cortisol fest” and added belly fat. You want high cortisol when you train, NOT after. Caffeine enhances athletic performance by increasing endurance.
Add organic heavy cream and a pinch of cinnamon to slow down the insulin spike from the coffee. Need a sweetener? Stevia Plus is the optimal choice. Pass on the sweetened syrups and flavored creamers (high in trans fats), both loaded in calories, and definitely stay away from sugar-free syrups which are full of high-fructose corn syrup. Ditch the chemical-loaded artificial sweeteners in the pink, yellow and blue packs and go for the green packs, SweetLeaf Stevia.
Opt for organic coffee versus non-organic coffee due to the high pesticide content in non-organic coffee. Consumer Reports magazine cautioned readers last year about the negative health effects of pesticides. The nonprofit Environmental Working Group urges consumers “to minimize exposure to pesticides whenever possible.”
Make sure to rotate your brands of coffee. One of my personal favorites isPowerCafe. PowerCafe® is the first coffee to combine organic dark roast Arabica coffee with the power of Yerba Mate. Tasty!
As with everything, moderation is key!
Copyright © 2011 Paula Owens