The myth of unhealthy coffee

Coffee is by no means disproportionately unhealthy, as numerous studies show

09/04/2012

Unfortunately, coffee has historically been classified as unhealthy and a risk factor for various diseases. Recent studies have been able to refute almost all the myths about the harmful effects of coffee.

Coffee has always been considered harmful to health. The caffeinated hot drink has been defamed as a potential trigger of cardiovascular disease, neuropathy, metabolic disorders, fertility disorders, and even cancer. In recent years, however, a large number of studies have examined the individual health aspects of coffee consumption more closely and disproved them one after the other. Most recently, a comprehensive study by the German Institute for Nutrition Research (DiFE) came to the conclusion that coffee consumption does not increase the risk of chronic diseases.

Myth of harmful coffee refuted
Thus, the myth of harmful coffee seems finally refuted. Millions of Germans can continue to enjoy their favorite beverage without fear of contributing to a stroke, heart attack, diabetes or cancer. Why coffee has received such a bad reputation in Europe over the last few centuries and that black tea, despite a similar caffeine content was considered uncritical, is hardly comprehensible on the basis of today's scientific findings. Although the final product after a tea infusion actually contains less caffeine than the conventional coffee, the concentration of the awakening alkaloid in the tea plant is often even higher than that of the coffee beans. Only the name of the active substance is different. Instead of caffeine is here from Teein the speech.

Coffee with calming and at the same time awakening effect
However, the caffeine of a cup of coffee is indeed much faster than a cup of tea, because on the one hand, the concentration is higher and on the other hand, the alkaloids can be easily processed by the organism coffee. However, this faster effect of caffeine does not necessarily have negative health consequences, but can sometimes even be an advantage. The supposedly awakening effect of coffee has not been completely deciphered despite decades of research. Because the caffeine shows both an activating and a calming effect on the organism. On the one hand, the release of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and adrenaline is promoted, on the other hand the respiratory rate and blood pressure are lowered. The promotion of the release of neurotransmitters occurs via a blockage of the body's own adenosine, which normally inhibits the release of dopamine, adrenaline and Co. Since the brain messengers have an activating effect on the organism, the cup of coffee is accompanied by a time-delayed awakening effect. On the other hand, the coffee enjoyment temporarily increases the cross section of the blood vessels (also in the respiratory tract), as a result of which the blood pressure and the respiratory rate drop and a soothing effect sets in. Only a quarter of an hour after the cup of coffee begins the invigorating effect of the brain messengers.

Coffee without negative consequences for the fluid balance
Among the most common prejudices coffee is exposed to are the supposedly negative effects on the cardiovascular system, blood lipid levels, fluid balance and male fertility, as well as the risk of heartburn, high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer. But the accusations are usually wrongly, as evidenced by numerous recent studies. For example, the nutritionist Prof. Dr. med. med. Olaf Adam from the physiology department of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich in an interview with "Welt Online", the review of the scientific data on the effects of coffee on the fluid balance prove that coffee is by no means a draining "urinary driver". According to the expert, "coffee is an important part of the total daily water intake" and can "usually be treated like any other beverage in the fluid balance." According to Prof. Adam, "the history of coffee as a liquid robber is based on a mistake 'It's a fairy tale.' In fact, coffee simultaneously promotes urinary excretion and sodium delivery through the kidneys, reducing the amount of water between cells without pulling fluid out of the cells, the nutritionist explained. Because the sinking sodium content in turn leads to a reduction of the osmotic pressure, so that no liquid could migrate through the cell walls. The coffee drinkers threaten by no means a dehydration.

Heartburn, which is associated with excessive consumption of coffee by many people, according to Dutch experts is also not on the coffee enjoyment, but highest on the condition of the stomach drinking coffee back. Only on an empty stomach does the coffee cause reflux of gastric acid into the esophagus, but this also applies to other drinks such as fruit juice or lemonade. If the coffee is taken together with other foods - such as breakfast - there is no increased risk of heartburn.

Connection between coffee enjoyment and chronic diseases?
The scientists of the German Institute for Nutritional Research have carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the health risks associated with coffee consumption in the so-called EPIC study (EPIC = European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition), in which numerous chronic diseases were taken into account. While most studies "only consider the relationship between enjoyment of coffee and a type of disease", the "German research team has now studied the long-term effects of coffee consumption not only on a disease, but on several chronic diseases simultaneously," reports the DiFE. The researchers around Prof. Dr. Heiner Boeing and Anna Flögel of the Department of Epidemiology at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam-Rehbrücke used for their analysis the EPIC study, which is one of the largest prospective studies in the world, the relationship between diet, cancer and other chronic diseases such as type-2 Diabetes examined. The participating research centers in Germany include the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg (DKFZ) and the DiFE.

Health effects of coffee on almost 50,000 subjects examined
The researchers around Heiner Boening and Anna Flögel used the data of more than 42,600 adult women and men from Potsdam and Heidelberg for their analysis of the potential health risks from coffee consumption. In the average follow-up period of nearly nine years, 1,432 participants in the study developed type 2 diabetes for the first time, 394 suffered a heart attack, 310 had a stroke, and 1,801 participants contracted cancer, according to the official statement of the DiFE. There was no evidence of an increase in the risk of "cardiovascular and cancers" and the risk of type 2 diabetes was higher in those "who consumed more than four cups (more than 600 milliliters) of caffeinated coffee each day People who ate less than a cup on average, reduced by 23 percent, "the result of the German research team. "Our study results are in line with the results of current prospective studies from the USA," emphasized Anna Flögel, adding: "Anyone who tolerates coffee well and enjoys it should continue to do so." However, the result of their investigation should not be used as an invitation to Coffee consumption be misunderstood. Previous coffee abstainers can continue to waive confidently on coffee and it is much "more important to make sure to eat enough whole grains, low meat and a lot of fruits and vegetables, not to smoke and move sufficiently" to the personal risk of disease low Prof. Heiner Boeing explained.

Impaired fertility due to coffee?
In terms of possible adverse effects on male fertility due to coffee consumption, the scientific findings are not yet clear. In 2006, a team of US scientists led by Andrew Wyrobek of the University of California found that sperm cells were permanently damaged by coffee consumption. "Already three cups of coffee daily can lead to damage to the sperm," emphasized the study director Andrew Wyrobek. By damaging the sperm cells threaten to alter the chromosome structures in the embryo, which in the worst case, malformations and miscarriages are favored, said the US scientists. In contrast to the statements are the results of Brazilian researchers, who found that the fertility of coffee drinkers is favored by their extremely mobile sperm. They even recommend coffee for the treatment of infertility. However, researchers' conflicting findings may not be related to coffee, but to the accompanying lifestyle. For example, Andrew Wyrobek said that perhaps "not caffeine but something in the lifestyle of coffee drinkers" is responsible for the reduced sperm quality. For a study by the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston had shown that coffee drinkers are generally more inclined to an unhealthy lifestyle than people who do not drink coffee. According to the US scientists, the proportion of smokers among coffee drinkers is disproportionately high, they are more likely to consume alcohol and have less social ties. (Fp)

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