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Whether you have been all night long with a sick child, finishing those monthly expense reports, or finishing your final term paper on earnmydegree.com, what is the one thing you tell yourself your going to need in the morning, coffee.
There has been a long standing debate on whether coffee has any beneficial effects at all on the human body or whether it is all just toxic. While tea has always won hands down the “which is better – coffee or tea?” debate, coffee is slowly redeeming itself. It has been proven long back that caffeine, like nicotine, when consumed in huge quantities has a debilitating impact on the body.
Addiction to caffeine usually begins with using coffee as a stimulant to keep awake those drooping eyes when stress levels are high. However, over a period of time, heavy consumption of coffee masks not just stress but also the feeling of hunger. Addiction to coffee grows and leads to problems related to the gastrointestinal region, leading to colitis, ulcers and gastritis. Overconsumption of coffee also raises the risk of blood pressure and cholesterol, and can also lead to iron deficiency and anemia. Anxiety, insomnia and irritability are also said to be some of the side effects of coffee addiction.
However, the world is slowly waking up the benefits of coffee as a health medicine. Studies reveal that mild amounts of coffee intake reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A comparative study between coffee non-drinkers and drinkers also revealed that the latter group was also less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease. Coffee is also revealed to increase short term recall. In painkillers, especially those that help in treating migraine and headaches, caffeine has been found to be effective. Coffee has also found to be helpful in protecting the liver. In fact, coffee is said to impact the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver. It can reduce cirrhosis of the liver and lowers risk of hepatocellular carcinoma. This is a type of primary liver cancer that emerges in people who have a history of cirrhosis of the liver.