Coffee IS Good for you!

[Dr_Dave]

Hi All,
An article form paper today
Regards
Dr Dave

You thought coffee was bad for you... Wait. Coffee is the most consumed drink worldwide and possibly the biggest source of antioxidants in the diets of those who consume it.

We are now a coffee society so what is the real truth about it?

First the bad news: There is a short term rise in your blood pressure and some stress hormones but tolerance quickly develops.

There are only two groups who should not have coffee or an excess of coffee. They are pregnant women who are at risk of miscarriage and stillbirth, and those who are genetically prone to osteoporosis, which it worsens.

The rest is all good news. Coffee improves your performance by shortening reaction time and enhancing your ability to stay awake. It is very helpful in enabling shift workers to manage their shifts.

Having a coffee before your lunch will increase gastric acid and aid digestion. It reduces fatigue and improves muscle strength temporarily - this is why it is banned by the Olympic committee.

In proportion to the amount you consume, coffee reduces numerous diseases and mortality from most causes across the board.

The risk of heart disease and stroke from blood clots (even in smokers) is reduced because coffee reduces platelet stickiness. (Platelets are in your blood alongside the red blood cells and the white blood cells and their job is to plug up holes when you have a cut.)

Coffee reduces incidences of breast cancer, bowel cancer, liver cancer, bladder cancer, pharyngeal cancer (thats the back of the throat), and oesophageal cancer (the food pipe).

It has been found to improve glucose handling by your body and so also reduces type 2 diabetes by up to 60 per cent - thats the diabetes older people get.

It also reduces cirrhosis of the liver, gallstones and encourages fat breakdown in the body - so coffee helps you lose weight too.

The special antioxidants in coffee that are helping with all these benefits include polyphenols which are anticarcinogenic.

Coffee also contains the beneficial vitamins potassium, niacin (or B3) and magnesium; and natural chemicals which are beneficial called chlorogenic acid, flavenoids, quinides, trigonelline, and methoxanthenes.

So, out with any concerns about coffee - drink up and be healthier, live longer, be sharper, more energetic and generally more vibrant.

[greenman]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Got to run and make a doppio latte!! ;D ;D

[Gilbert]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Guess Ill just have to increase my daily intake...*sigh* :

[bolb]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

So Dr Dave

I am curious, if coffee helps you loose weight, why would at least 3 major weight loss programs suggest a change to decaffeinated coffee or have a maxmimum of one normal coffee per day?

I moved to decaf on the 1st of jan when starting a lifestyle diet change with SWMBO and normal coffee will be the first thing back when i reach my goal weight not because the decaf is substandard, on the contrary, but because there is less variety in bean types and flavours.

Mal

[Thundergod]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

My latest diet recommends some coffee intake (not decaf) but doesnt recommend milk.
Maybe thats why Im not losing as much weight as Id like, because if it was based only on coffee intake Id be my svelte former self by now.

[bolb]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

So far i am keeping with the decaf only policy, but in 8kg time i will reintroduce caffeine.

SWMBO still has a few more KGs to go than me so i am thinking she will be on decaf for much longer but prior to starting the diet she would have at least 2 latte per day and the milk even though skinny milk would not have done her waste line too good.

Now if i could just get her to drink long black :-/

Mal

[redzone121]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Mmmm......there are several questionable statements in that newspaper article Dr Dave, but of course as a snob lets not look too closely, it would ruin the article and put us off our fix.
On the diet thing "bolb" a 10 year research study tells us less than 5% of ALL diets (or dieters on these diets) maintain there weight loss beyond or untill the 10 year mark  :-[. Yep that a 95% plus failure of ALL diets to deliver 10 years on  :-/. The successful 5% or less people are those able to maintain or stick to the said diet.
Heres the punchline.........energy in versus energy out! Thats it   !
As an professsional trainer with 25 + years experience, the answer is "make a small adjustment and maintain it for life". The equivelent energy of one piece of bread taken out of your daily intake can drop body fat by approx 5kg in a year (there are individual factors) but you get the picture.
If anyone would like some help feel free to PM me.

Chris

ps: I do NOT  > take coffee out of a clients food diaries unless there is a determining health factor.

Coffee in most cases can curb the appetite and the fibre content is very useful also.

Enjoy  

[bolb]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Hi Redzone.
I have dropped about 13kg in 8 weeks.
I guess no breads, pasta, potatoe, rice is not a bad thing to do if you are in the reduction phase of changing your habits.
It will be interesting moving forward once i am in maintainence mode and lifestyle for the future. Bringing back those foods that can do the damage but in moderation only.

So far its relatively simple, SWMBO and I get real pleasure out of creating a full on masterpiece dinner on a weekend with all the right food types rather than hitting the takeaway scene with the kids like we used to, we are all better off, kids included as we have introduced them to even more vegetables.

As for excercise, i dont do any and I generally have other items that need to be done in the time i do have when i am not working, sleeping etc.

I guess most people need a kickstart (my wife did as she needed to drop 40kg and is 11kg along the path already) to get them going and help with motivation to succeed in goals and not fall prey to items such as chocolate, desserts and takeaway(convenience) which IMHO is the root cause of all evil.

Professional Trainer..... you can keep that one for a job, imagine having to be nice to your customers every minute of the day. (can you tell i dont work in retail  ;D). Just near our place a franchise of "step into life" has just started and each session they are getting more and more attending, i guess its an awareness thing in our community.

As for the notion of sleeping better with no caffeine i totally disagree, i sleep no differently to what i was before and i was having 4 doubles per day, stopping the caffeine only gave me a headache for a few hours and that was it apart from that there is no difference although i now drink 2L of water perday whereas before i drank none.

Mal

[redzone121]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Well done Mal

You are all doing fantastic and are setting yourselves up for a great future.
Exercise, well look at it this way, if your body were a car......the panel work etc is what you look like on the outside. The engine....is your very own engine, heart, lungs, etc.
No matter how pretty our body may look, "Porsche" or whatever, if we dont look after the engine our car isnt going anywhere. So I would encourage you to put maybe even as little as 10 minutes a day a side to do a little walking with your family or on you own if times dont fit (excuse the pun).
Also do treat yourselves once a week, as our brain does funny things when its completely banned from things we used to enjoy !

Well done again to you all and keep us posted with your progress.

ps: any chance of coming around for dinner ;D

[Coffee2Di4]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Im still stunned at the fact that coffee has fibre in it...just one more reason why I drink it!!!

Is that true, or is it just that Ive misconstrued the sentence (please dont dash my hopes!)

I dont exercise (Im allergic to it!), but I do do tap dance for an hour twice a week and practise whenever Im standing in one spot for more than 30 seconds...after 12 months of doing this, my feet, ankles, legs and bottom are now like steel! Just a pity I cant get the something with the same enjoyment factor for my upper half...

Cheers
Di

[Dr_Dave]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Hi All,
It is a newspaper article for interest not hard science, however it has reasonable validity. I thought it may be of interest to Coffee snobs
As to the decaf. - I cannot see why this would influence weight gain/loss vs. non decaff. If you are adding full cream milk, then a different story.
Many health proffessionals state the "90% rule" - eat well 90% of the time , but treat your self occaisonally. If the diet is SO regimented people dont stick to them. Hence the huge number of people that begin diets and give up.
So dont be afraid to have a decent coffee with milk if thats what you want. Moderation is key.
As Redzone says - energy in vs. energy out. or put another way you cannot fatten a sheep in a concrete pen! ( Obviously Im from NZ)

Finally - well done Mal. Keep up the good work
Dr Dave

[tomas_szollosi]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

I run on caffeine
Posts: 469
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Re: Coffee IS Good for you!
Reply #3 - Feb 20th, 2009, 10:00pm So Dr Dave

I am curious, if coffee helps you loose weight, why would at least 3 major weight loss programs suggest a change to decaffeinated coffee or have a maxmimum of one normal coffee per day?

hey mal

i am an elite cyclist and have read a lot of studies relating to caffeine intake prior to training and also post training to enhance recovery. the research showed that caffeine mobilises fat stores and therefore makes then more readily available for use as an energy source during exercise. so i guess the weight loss programs you refer to may not be taking into account physical training?

[redzone121]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

Good point CE and welcome to CS  

Several big name W/loss programs actually advise against exercise  :-[

With regard to caffeine and cycling or any exercise for that matter my understanding is you have to be caffeine free (2 days without any) to gain any extra benefit be it pre workout or post workout.

Keep me posted CE if you come across any further info, I know the AIS is ons it game regarding this and as a Trainer or more importantly a Snob its good to keep up with the play  

Cheers Chris.

[bolb]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

HI CE
The program we are on dont massively push excercise but rather advise a balance of everything. They probably figure pushing people to massive amounts of exercise is not sustainable for most people and as has been stated a little of everything helps to build an appropriate lifestyle.

While i dont really have time for exercise as a rule, the coach of my sons basketball team has started this new year with the kids playing the parents for the last 20 mins of coaching and its really hard work either catching or getting away from the kids. The coach figures the harder we push the kids at skill levels in a game scenario the better they will be.

This has happened for three weeks now and i tend to agree with him as their overall game play and team work has improved. On the plus side i get 20 min of a solid workout on a monday night.

As i reach my goal weight i will need to build a new roaster (going to use KKs design) to easily handle smaller batches of coffee especially given SWMBO will probably still be on decaf when i am not, i want the variety of flavours back.

Mal

[tomas_szollosi]

Re: Coffee IS Good for you!

hey mal

good to hear you are keeping active on a weekly basis. i find consistency in exercise, no matter what level, is a very important aspect of a training or weight loss program. just a quick question relating to decaf, do you find the flavour of decaf drematically reduces the espresso expierience? i have been thinking of buying some decaf so i can have an espresso later in the night and still be able to sleep well

cheers

CE