Over the last few years, urban India has acquired a new coffee culture. While, south Indian filtered coffee has been a tradition, India in general is waking up to coffee.The coffee we drink is blended from various different beans. Blending is done by creative artists in the coffee world. They choose the combination of beans in order to produce desirable brews.
Several forms of coffee can be found: decaffeinated, instant, iced and flavoured. Many health conscious people have turned to decaffeinated coffee, but there have been questions over the decaffeinating process itself. Several decaffinating processes involve the use of carbon-dioxide, ethylacetate, and methylchloride or coffee oils. Now, most decaffeinated coffee is made using water and steam with no chemical solvents and are, therefore, safe. Instant coffee powders contain dry, powdered water-soluble solids produced by drying very strongly brewed coffee. This coffee should be kept packed in air-tight containers because they tend to absorb moisture.
Coffee contains more than 400 chemicals including trace amounts of vitamins, minerals and high concentration of anti-oxidants. Caffeine is the main stimulant. A regular cup of coffee contains approximately 100 mg of caffeine. The caffeine content varies depending on how strong the coffee is made. Caffeine increases epinephrine (adrenaline) release, which stimulates the central nervous system, increases alertness and increases heartbeat.
Despite its growing popularity, most people believe coffee to be a somewhat toxic addiction taken only as an indulgence or to overcome sleep and boost alertness. Several health concerns have been attributed to coffee drinking including, its addictive nature, ill-effects on digestion, bone health, cardio-vascular health, disturbed sleep, high blood pressure, infertility and increased incidence in pancreatic or bladder cancer. Numerous studies now, however, reveal that coffee consumption and caffeine does not contribute to cardiovascular disease, including high blood pressure and stroke, even in people who drink more than four cups of coffee a day. Even though coffee does cause a transient increase in blood pressure, moderate coffee drinking does not pose a significant risk to those with hypertension. A recent study reports that coffee is a major source of dietary anti-oxidants and may inhibit inflammation and thereby lower the risk of cardio-vascular diseases and other inflammatory diseases in post-menopausal women. Researchers have also found no link between coffee consumption and cancers of bladder, breast, colon, lung, pancreas and prostrate. Preliminary studies also suggest a protective role of coffee in liver cirrhosis.
Numerous studies report that regular coffee consumption over long periods of time may reduce the risk of developing Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. A study revealed that coffee helped older people think better, improve their memory and reasoning skills. Caffeine may have a positive effect on weight loss as it has been shown to increase energy expenditure modestly.
In spite of the good news, drinking coffee carries some concerns. It is certainly habit-forming and even a single cup per day contains enough caffeine to create the risk of withdrawal symptoms. In some people, it can induce heartburn by boosting up acid production. Caffeine can also block calcium and iron absorption to some extent.For pregnant women, coffee consumption has been linked to risk of miscarriages. Some studies have shown that women who consume 1-3 cups of coffee increase the risk of spontaneous abortion by 30 per cent. Caffeine is a diuretic, which increases output of urine, which can be a concern for men with prostrate problems. Since it is a stimulant, it can make it difficult for you to fall asleep and may interfere with regular sleeping patterns.
Cafestol and kahweol, compounds in boiled or steeped coffee, can boost cholesterol synthesis by the liver. These are found in highest concentrations in Scandinavian, Turkish coffees and French-press brews. Apparently, these compounds are trapped during the filtration of coffee. This is why the blood cholesterol levels of people who drink filtered coffee reman stable.
In a nutshell, one or two cups a day should certainly not pose any risks for most people. Also, it does not increase the risk for any other health risks including heart disease, bone loss, cancer or infertility. People with irregular heart-beats (arrhythmias), pregnant women are advised non-caffeinated beverages.
Source: Indian Express
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