COFFEE FOR BRAIN 11

How does black coffee benefit you? Benefits of Coffee It seems not only is it green tea that is good for you, but black tea has been revealed as having benefits as well. Now, recent studies have said that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Alzheimer's, colon cancer and diabetes than non-drinkers, and they are also less likely to die from heart disease. Despite this, coffee isn't for everyone, with reports showing that for some people coffee simply brings with it insomnia, anxiety issues and irregular heartbeat. Plus, too much coffee during pregnancy can increase the risk of miscarriage. However, if you do enjoy a cup, read on to find out the health benefits of coffee and perhaps prevent the risk of the following 10 health issues, according to www.beliefnet.com Avoid Alzheimer's Curb cancer risk Defend against diabetes Reduce workout pain Guard against gout Deter death from heart disease Preserve your memory Protect against Parkinson's Reduce risk of gall and kidney stones Reduce the risk of a stroke Here, we look at a select few on the list: Alzheimer's: Apparently, a 2009 study found that people who drink three to five cups of coffee at midlife, were 65 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer's in later life, compared to those who drank little or no coffee. Other research suggests that the caffeine in coffee may reduce production of the protein beta-amyloid, deposits of which often form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. Cancer: The antioxidant which is found in coffee, may help to prevent several types of cancer. A Japanese study found that women who drank three or more cups of coffee per day had half the risk of developing colon cancer compared to those who didn't drink it. Other studies have linked coffee consumption with a reduced risk of endometrial, kidney, and oral cancers. Diabetes: A 2006 study found that drinking coffee can lower the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 60 percent. The antioxidants, minerals, and caffeine in coffee may help keep diabetes at bay by improving glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. Memory: According to two studies in 2007, coffee may help to preserve your memory. One study found that older women who drank more than three cups of coffee per day experienced less memory decline over time than those who drank one cup of coffee or less per day. The other study found that older men who consumed three cups of coffee a day had a slower rate of cognitive decline than those who drank either more or less than this amount. Strokes: In 2009, a study found that women who drank four or more cups of coffee per day, had a 20 percent lower risk of a stroke, compared to those that had less than one cup a month. It is believed that the antioxidants in coffee offer protection by improving blood vessel function. Just think, next time you put the kettle on for that cup of coffee, you could be in fact helping yourself. http://www.executivehm.com/news/health-benefits-coffee/

Reduce post-workout muscle pain – by drinking two cups of coffee before you start exercising. It may sound a little unlikely, but a recent study indicates that drinking coffee can reduce the muscle pain you feel after a workout. More specifically, the study looked just at women who were not habitual coffee drinkers. It was in this group that drinking two cups of coffee before a workout seemed to help so much in reducing muscle pain. (If it worked for the women in the study, we don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t work for men either. Not that we’re medical experts.) Here’s what researcher Patrick O'Connor of the department of kinesiology at the University of Georgia said... "A lot of times what people use for muscle pain is drugs like aspirin or ibuprofen, but caffeine seems to work better than those drugs, at least among women whose daily caffeine consumption is low." Better than aspirin or ibuprofen? That’s pretty amazing, when you think of the number of people who take over the counter pain killers to ease their muscle pain after exercise. The researchers did add one cautionary note, however. Two cups of coffee, for the caffeine, is about right. But don’t go crazy and have five coffees instead. You may end up having heart palpitations or, at least, a case of the jitters. Anyway, it’s good to read about yet another study that shows coffee lovers some of the benefits of drinking our favorite brew. http://www.coffeedetective.com/muscle-pain.html

The Gourmet Coffee Lifestyle – how coffee has come to change our lives. Not so long ago, viewing gourmet coffee as part of your lifestyle would have been unimaginable. Most coffee was purchased in cans from supermarkets, and the quality was uniformly poor. One would grab a coffee before work and take coffee breaks during the day. But coffee was chosen for its kick more than for the quality of its taste. Today, with the growth of specialty gourmet coffees, coffee has come to touch our lives in a lot of new and different ways. Companies like Green Mountain Coffee now cater to just about every possible taste in coffee, and have even impacted the way we make coffee at home with their K-Cup brewers. Now we go to Starbucks instead of a diner... You can still go to a diner and get an anonymous coffee served with your meal. But the experience is utterly different from that of going to Starbucks or some other gourmet coffee shop. In a coffee shop you have a range of different coffees to choose from -- from Central or South America, East Africa, the Far East and even Hawaii. You can have a straight coffee, or order an espresso, cappuccino, latté or any one of a host of other concoctions. For many, going to a coffee shop has become part of their daily routine, part of their life. It has become desirable to hang out in a coffee shop. It is a place to meet with friends, hold business meetings or spend time on your own and read, or just sit and enjoy the ambience. This may sound obvious and ordinary to us today. But just a few decades ago there were no coffee shops of the kind we have now. No place where you would be surrounded by the sounds and smells of coffee beans being ground and brewed. Gourmet coffee and coffee shops have changed the landscape of many neighborhoods, and changed the daily routines of many people who live and work in the area. You can now make gourmet coffee at home and enjoy a quality equal to what you’ll find in a coffee shop... The availability of whole coffee beans in stores and online has brought the gourmet coffee experience into our homes. Now we can grind our own beans, try coffees from different countries and regions and make a cup of coffee that tastes just as good as what we buy in a coffee shop or restaurant. You have an amazing choice of coffee makers... It used to be that everyone used a percolator or standard drip brewer. Now you can choose from a much broader selection of coffee makers, to suit your own lifestyle and your level of interest in coffee making. One cup coffee brewers serve the needs of those who want to brew-and-run. While French presses and vacuum brewers delight those who want to take a little time and enjoy the visual and tactile experience of making fine coffee. You can make the act of buying whole coffee beans part of your social conscience... You can buy organic coffee beans or fair trade coffee beans. Either way, you are making an impact on the lives of coffee growers. In the case of fair trade coffee in particular, every cup of coffee you drink helps pull small coffee farmers out of a cycle of poverty and helps their communities. Coffee has always stimulated conversations... If you go back a few centuries to the coffee houses of the Middle East and Europe, you’ll see there is nothing new about people gathering together and talking over coffee. The coffee houses and people’s interest in coffee may have disappeared for a while, but the desire to enjoy fine coffees in the company of others is now back. Whether enjoyed at home or in coffee shops, drinking gourmet coffee has become part of the lifestyle of millions of people around the world. http://www.coffeedetective.com/gourmet-coffee-lifestyle.html