August
Settling The Great Debate On Coffee
We have all heard at one point or another that coffee is either bad for us, or when a new study comes out, that it is all of a sudden good for us. We are here with the compiled research so you don’t have to do it yourself! We have the coffee facts to settle the great debate.
What Is Coffee?
What is coffee besides a delicious drink that provides a much-needed morning jolt or afternoon wake-up call? It comes from a berry from a coffea plant. The dark brown beans from the store are far from how the beans look when first harvested. They come out of the berry as a small, hard, green kernel, and they take on more flavor and become the coffee bean you see at the store after being roasted.
Not only can coffee be transformed from beans into a beautiful and delicious drink, but it provides many with a little energy burst. Who doesn’t need a little energy burst when you wake up in the morning?
Round 1: Coffee VS Cardiologist
For years the back and forth between the benefits of coffee side effects and the advice of cardiologists have gone back and forth in conflicting statements.
Some say that as a stimulant, coffee is bad for your heart. Stimulants increase your heart rate, but coffee is a mild and natural stimulant, and the effects vary among people.
Another study says that coffee can potentially reduce the risk of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis is a heart disease where there is fat and cholesterol buildup on arterial walls. This build-up is called plaque, and the long-term effects of this heart disease can be quite serious and require many medications, doctor visits, and sometimes operations.
So, if there is a study saying a delicious cup of coffee can reduce the risk, well that sounds too good to be true. Nonetheless, here are the results of the study.
A group of people around 50 years old were asked how much coffee they consumed on average, and from there were split up into categories based on coffee consumption. From there, they underwent CT scans to evaluate the level of plaque buildup in the arteries.
The results were those who drank 3 or more cups of coffee a day showed fewer signs of plague buildup in arteries than those who only drank 1 cup of coffee a day or less.
Interestingly but not surprising, this coffee test only favored those who drank more coffee and had never smoked. Those who smoked in their lifetime did not have as favorable results.
Round 1 goes to coffee and our cardiologists, we love the sips and all the care our cardiologists provide.
Round 2: Coffee VS Various Diseases
Coffee has been tested for its various health benefits many times against many different diseases. Here are just a few of the diseases that you can lower your risk of suffering from by increasing your coffee intake.
Diabetes is number 1. Your risk of type 2 diabetes can be reduced by drinking more coffee compared to those who don’t have a cup of coffee. Regular coffee drinking can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease as well. The caffeine in the coffee helps protect against Parkinson’s and even other cognitive diseases.
Next up coffee is a helper in blood pressure levels and overall heart health. It can assist in weight loss and obesity prevention, which goes hand in hand with heart health. A large percentage of people with heart problems also struggle with being overweight. It puts more strain on your heart.
Drink Up The Coffee
The final consensus is that we are on our way to get a cup of coffee now. It is delicious both hot and iced, and the health benefits are too numerous to ignore.
Call Brookhaven Heart today at 16316543278 for a check-up or if you have more serious health concerns. Coffee certainly can’t fix everything, so come in to see us and our team of cardiologists.