Coffee and Fat Loss, other health benefits and risks

Do you love your morning cup of coffee? Well, drink up! A study published in the journal Molecular Nutrition & Food Research showed that people who drink four daily cups of coffee lost 1.5 pounds of body fat in four weeks. According to a European study, your daily cup of coffee reduces oxidative damage to your DNA by an impressive 40 percent! Coffee contains polyphenols which help protect cells from oxidation,regulate insulin and reduce inflammation. Lab testing has found that coffee has much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits. For these benefits, the coffee has to be a special Arabica coffee blend rich in unroasted (green) and roasted bean compounds which gives coffee its antioxidant boost, which accounts for its apparent power to reduce DNA damage.

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.

Scientists at Harvard School of Public Health (published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute), conducted a study in which men who regularly drank coffee had a lower risk of developing prostate cancer. Men who consumed 1-3 cups of coffee daily reduced their risk of the deadly form of prostate cancer by 30% — and, men who drank the most coffee lowered their risk of lethal prostate cancer by 60%.

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