Ms. Liu, a 42-year-old junior high school teacher, often has to stay up late to prepare for classes, and can only drink coffee in order to refresh herself, and can drink up to 5 cups of coffee a day at most.
Last week, she fell to the ground when she didn't stand still in the morning, and there was a sharp pain in her collarbone where her right body hit the ground. When she went to the hospital for an examination, she was diagnosed with a broken collarbone, and she also suffered from osteoporosis. This made Ms. Liu particularly surprised, how could she break a bone if she just fell a little? And osteoporosis, isn't it a disease that only the elderly can get?
After learning about her past history, the doctor believed that Ms. Liu's osteoporosis was related to her long-term heavy coffee consumption. The caffeine in coffee can lead to decalcification of the body, and Ms. Liu's irregular diet due to work causes insufficient calcium intake, which induces osteoporosis.
1. Drinking a cup of coffee every day, the body may reap 5 benefits
A cup of coffee in the morning is the standard for many young people now, and even many people regard coffee as a "life-sustaining artifact", which is completely inseparable. Drinking coffee regularly may bring these benefits to the body.
1. Refresh the mind and relieve fatigue
When people are tired, the brain secretes a large amount of adenosine, and caffeine can bind to adenosine to block the fatigue signals sent by adenosine. In this way, the brain will not be able to know the signals transmitted by the fatigue substance, and it will naturally not feel tired.
2. Help digestion and promote bowel movements
The acidic substances in coffee can promote the production of gastric acid, bile, and pancreatic secretions, promote gastrointestinal peristalsis, and can also relieve indigestion to a certain extent. In addition, some studies have found that coffee can stimulate the movement of the distal colon, enhance the body's bowel response, and prevent constipation.
3. Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes
A study published in Food and Health – Consensus on Scientific Evidence states that moderate coffee consumption may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The International Diabetes Federation and other institutions directly regard black coffee as a part of dietary health, and it is recommended that diabetics can drink it in moderation.
4. Reduce the risk of liver disease/liver cancer
Scientists from the University of Southampton and other institutions have published a study in BMC Public Health that analysed data from more than 495,000 regular coffee drinkers in the UK Biobank and followed them for 10.7 years.
It was found that coffee intake had a 21%, 20%, and 49% lower risk of chronic liver disease, 20% lower risk of chronic liver disease, and 49% lower risk of death from chronic liver disease than non-coffee drinkers. According to the researchers, the caffeol and cafestol in coffee have been shown to protect against chronic liver disease in animals.
And it is the most beneficial to drink 3-4 cups of coffee a day.
5. Reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease
A study published in the journal Impact Factor by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee followed 6,467 women for more than 10 years and found that women after age 65 could reduce their risk of dementia by consuming high levels of caffeine, which is roughly equivalent to drinking 2-3 cups of coffee per day (about 230ml/cup).
Second, these 4 common questions about coffee are misunderstood by many people
There has been a lot of controversy about the relationship between coffee and health, some people say that drinking coffee can cause heart disease, some people say that the caffeine in coffee is addictive, and some people say that drinking coffee will cause osteoporosis.
Myth 1: Drinking coffee is not good for cardiovascular health
Caffeine increases nerve excitability, causing heart rate to increase, blood vessels to dilate, respiratory rate, and peristalsis in the gastrointestinal tract to a certain extent. In particular, people who are caffeine intolerant will have symptoms such as palpitation, palpitations, dizziness and discomfort after drinking coffee, and the higher the coffee concentration, the more obvious the symptoms. However, for people who have been drinking coffee for a long time, if there are no symptoms, there is no need to worry.
Conversely, a study at the 2021 European Annual Meeting of Cardiology showed that drinking between half and three cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 17% and stroke by 21%.
Myth 2: Drinking coffee can cause osteoporosis
It is undeniable that caffeine does increase the excretion of calcium in the urine and the secretion of calcium in the small intestine, and the oxalic acid in coffee will combine with calcium to inhibit calcium absorption. But we can't put aside the dose to talk about toxicity, long-term high dose (>300mg) intake of coffee will increase the risk of osteoporosis, at least need to drink 3~4 cups a day, the average person will not drink so much coffee.
A cup of coffee will cause the body to lose 2~3mg of calcium, and 100ml of milk has about 100mg of calcium. Drinking coffee and milk at the same time can completely offset the loss of calcium, so you don't need to worry too much.
Myth 3: Drinking coffee is addictive
Coffee does bring a certain amount of addiction to the body, but it does not have a lasting effect on the body and mind during withdrawal. Studies have found that when you consume more than 100mg of caffeine per day, your body will become dependent, and if you stop taking it for 12~24 hours, your body will have symptoms such as difficulty concentrating, headaches, and anxiety.
However, this symptom will generally be relieved after 2~3 days and will not last forever.
Myth 4: Coffee causes cancer
This claim mainly stems from the acrylamide component in coffee, which is produced during the roasting process. In fact, acrylamide is not an uncommon substance, and it is found in all kinds of baked foods that contain starch.
In addition, acrylamide has only been found to cause cancer in large quantities in animal experiments, and the amount that humans can ingest through food is less than 1% of the experiment. Aside from animal experiments, the results cannot be directly converted to humans, and there is no need to worry too much about the dosage alone.
3. Drinking coffee for a long time is healthier to achieve these 4 points
Although drinking coffee is not so exaggerated as not causing cancer, there are also a lot of precautions when drinking, and it will be healthier to do these things well.
1. Choose to drink black coffee
Try to choose black coffee with nothing added to the coffee, this kind of coffee will have a pronounced bitter taste, and milk can be added appropriately to neutralize the bitterness. Try not to drink instant coffee and fancy coffee on the market, because they have a lot of white sugar and non-dairy creamer, and it is very unhealthy to drink such coffee.
2. It is best to drink it in the morning
American neurologists have calculated that the best time to drink coffee is 9:30~11:30 a.m., and drinking coffee at this stage can make the interaction between cortisol and caffeine in the body reach the best state. Note that it is generally not recommended to drink coffee on an empty stomach or after dinner, otherwise it is easy to have heart palpitations and affect normal sleep.
3. Don't exceed 3 cups a day
Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, said that healthy adults generally do not recommend drinking more than 3 cups of coffee a day. Generally, 150ml of coffee has 100mg of caffeine, and the daily intake of healthy adults should be 210~400mg, so it is advisable to drink 3~5 cups a day, but it is best not to exceed 3 cups to avoid excessive caffeine intake to bring health risks.
4. Special groups should drink with caution
Yu Kang, a professor at the Department of Clinical Nutrition of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, reminded pregnant women, children under 12 years old, patients with digestive diseases such as gastric disease/gastroesophageal reflux, patients with cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension/arteriosclerosis/coronary heart disease, and gout patients should be cautious about drinking coffee.
Coffee is not as terrible as rumored on the Internet, but it is also necessary to control the intake when drinking, and excessive intake does bring some unnecessary risks to health, which needs to be clear.
Resources:
[1] "Drinking Coffee Is Not Good for the Heart?Causes Osteoporosis?The Truth Is ......". Popular Science China 2022-10-03
[2] "Can Drinking Coffee Induce Heart Disease?Can It Cause Osteoporosis and Addiction? Science refutes rumors 2023-10-25
[3] "A cup of coffee has 5 magical benefits, and big-name doctors can't help but drink a few cups". Life Times 2017-04-07
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