Coffee Benefits

Coffee increases the effectiveness of pain killers—especially migraine medications—and can rid some people of asthma. Some of the beneficial effects may be restricted to one sex, for instance it has been shown to reduce the occurrence of gallstones and gallbladder disease in men. Coffee intake may reduce one's risk of diabetes mellitus type 2 by up to half. While this was originally noticed in patients who consumed high amounts (7 cups a day), the relationship was later shown to be linear (Salazar-Martinez 2004).

Coffee can also reduce the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver and prevent colon and bladder cancers. Coffee can reduce the risk of hepatocellular carcinoma, a variety of liver cancer (Inoue, 2005). Also, coffee reduces the incidence of heart disease, though whether this is simply because it rids the blood of excess fat or because of its stimulant effect is unknown. At the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 2005, chemist Joe Vinson of the University of Scranton presented his analysis showing that for Americans, who as a whole do not consume large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables, coffee represents by far the largest source of valuable antioxidants in the diet.[5]

Coffee contains the anticancer compound methylpyridinium. This compound is not present in significant amounts in other food materials. Methylpyridinium is not present in raw coffee beans but is formed during the roasting process from trigonellin, which is common in raw coffee beans. It is present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, and even in instant coffee. 6

Coffee is also a powerful stimulant for peristalsis and is sometimes considered to prevent constipation; it is also a diuretic.

Many people drink coffee for its ability to increase short term recall and increase IQ. It also changes the metabolism of a person so that their body burns a higher proportion of lipids to carbohydrates, which can help athletes avoid muscle fatigue.

Some of these health effects are realized by as little as 4 cups a day (24 U.S. fl oz, 700 mL), but others occur at 5 or more cups a day (32 U.S. fl oz or 0.95 L or more).

Some controversy over these effects exists, since by its nature coffee consumption is associated with other behavioral variables. Therefore it has been variously suggested that the cognitive effects of caffeine are limited to those who have not developed a tolerance, or to those who have developed a tolerance and are caffeine-deprived.

Practitioners in alternative medicine often recommend coffee enemas for "cleansing of the colon" due to its stimulus of peristalsis, although mainstream medicine has not proved any benefits of the practice.