COFFEE FOR BRAIN 7

After enjoying the health benefits of drinking coffee, now do the same with topical coffee products for your skin and hair. Who would imagine that the health benefits of coffee would extend beyond internal use – by drinking the stuff – to the use of topical, coffee-based products for your skin and hair? First, a big thanks to the folks at Barista Bath and Body for sending us a sample pack of their products, which included shampoo, conditioner, shower wash and body cream. And yes, coffee is a major ingredient in each of them. Before we get to the health benefits, let me say a few words about the products themselves. Personally, I can barely tell the difference between a body cream and a jar of mayonnaise, so I asked the ladies in the house – mother and daughter – to give me their opinion. Both have tried all four products, and they like them all. Although at first they found it a little unsettling to be using coffee-colored shampoo and shower wash. Which raises the main question here…and that is, why on earth would one use organic coffee as the main ingredient for a range of hair and body care products? Well, it seems there are some good reasons. First, the inclusion of coffee allows for the exclusion of some very unpleasant chemicals often found in other hair and body care products. Chemicals like parabens and phthalates. Second, the use of coffee brings the pH of these products very close to neutral. Most products of this type, particularly shampoos and body washes, have a very high, alkaline pH, which isn’t good for either your hair or your skin. Third, there are some significant health benefits associated with the topical application of coffee. According to their literature…and they do cite scientific studies to support these claims… * Applying caffeine to your body through shampoo is a highly effective treatment for premature hair loss. * Caffeine assists in lowering the risk of skin cancer. * Creams containing caffeine help reduce the appearance of cellulite when applied to the skin. * Coffee is a major contributor of antioxidants. Put this all together, and you can see why using hair and skin products which contain coffee is such a good idea. Drink coffee to protect yourself on the inside, and use these hair and body care products to protect yourself on the outside. You can learn more about these products at Barista Bath and Body. http://www.coffeedetective.com/coffee-for-hair-and-skin.html

Caffeine in Coffee – the amount in each cup depends on the brew, and the bean. Here at Coffee Detective we don’t get too excited about the exact amount of caffeine in coffee. We just know that drinking two or three cups in the morning gives us a nice lift, sharpens the concentration and prepare us for the day. However, for some people the minutiae of caffeine content is a subject of fascination. So we did our usual sleuthing and found some information you might find interesting. Here is the breakdown of caffeine in coffee, based on drinking a 7 oz cup of coffee, with variations depending on the method of preparation etc. And here is the source of the data: Bunker and McWilliams in J.Am. Diet. 74:28-32, 1979 Drip Coffee 115-175mg Espresso - 1 serving (1.5-2oz) 100mg Brewed 80-135mg Instant 65-100mg Decaf, brewed 3-4mg Decaf, instant 2-3mg The amount of caffeine in coffee is also influenced by the bean itself... The variation in caffeine content between different types of coffee beans is minor, but quite interesting nevertheless. The figures represent the percentage of caffeine content in the bean. Varietals/Straights Brazil Bourbons 1.20% Celebes Kalossi 1.22 Colombia Excelso 1.37 Colombia Supremo 1.37 Costa Rica Tarrazu 1.35 Ethiopian Harrar-Moka 1.13 Guatemala Antigua 1.32 Indian Mysore 1.37 Jamaican Blue Mtn/Wallensford Estate 1.24 Java Estate Kuyumas 1.20 Kenya AA 1.36 Kona Extra Prime 1.32 Mexico Pluma Altura 1.17 Mocha Mattari (Yemen) 1.01 New Guinea 1.30 Panama Organic 1.34 Sumatra Mandheling-Lintong 1.30 Tanzania Peaberry 1.42 Zimbabwe 1.10 Blends and Dark Roasts Colombia Supremo Dark 1.37% Espresso Roast 1.32 French Roast 1.22 Vienna Roast 1.27 Mocha-Java 1.17 Source: Newsletter--Mountanos Bros. Coffee Co., San Francisco So...if you really want to either maximize or minimize the amout of caffeine you ingest, you can do that both by how you brew your coffee, and through your choice of the coffee beans themselves. http://www.coffeedetective.com/caffeine-in-coffee.html

Coffee may protect against oral cancers, according to a new study from Japan. When it comes to seeing coffee as a health drink, the news just gets better and better. The most recent study to demonstrate coffee’s beneficial action against cancer focuses on oral cancers. Here is an excerpt from an article published recently by Reuters. Reuters, Jan 6th 2009. "The consumption of coffee in Japan is relatively high, as is the rate of cancer of the esophagus in men. To look into any protective effect of coffee drinking, Dr. Toru Naganuma of Tohoku University, Sendai, and colleagues, analyzed data from the population-based Miyagi Cohort Study in Japan. The study included information about diet, including coffee consumption. Among more than 38,000 study participants aged 40 to 64 years with no prior history of cancer, 157 cases of cancer of the mouth, pharynx and esophagus occurred during 13 years of follow up. Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank one or more cups per day had half the risk of developing these cancers, Naganuma's group reports in the American Journal of Epidemiology. They note that the reduction in risk included people who are at high risk for these cancers, namely, those who were current drinkers and/or smokers at the start of the study." http://www.coffeedetective.com/oral-cancers.html