Time for coffee and tea
Drinking Coffee and health
Coffee extract, in one form or the other is consumed daily by approximately two-thirds of the adult population in the United States and Europe, with an average consumption of two cups of coffee per person per day in the USA; the consumption in Europe is typically twice as much, with Scandinavian countries consuming on average four cups of coffee a day.
It is not surprising that coffee is a major force in international trade with approximately 5 million tonnes being produced annually in the 50 plus countries that grow the coffee crop. In fact coffee is second only to oil in international commerce, though with the price of oil nowadays, it is in a fairly distant second place!
Therefore even relatively minor concerns about the safety of coffee have major implications for international public health and for the world economy.
Coffee is one of the most drank beverages in the world, one of the reasons for its popularity is its distinct flavour and aroma. In addition to this, one of the reasons for its great popularity is the addictive nature of some of the chemicals it contains such as caffeine, and many people see coffee addiction as a problem. The coffee drink is known to be made up of over a thousand different chemicals. These include complex carbohydrates, vitamins, alkaloids and phenol compounds amongst many others. Many of these coffee constituents have health benefits.
There have been many investigations into the effects of coffee upon health; these have mainly been based upon observation and relational. Unfortunately many of the early case studies were strongly related to other social habits such as the consumption of alcohol, smoking and lack of exercise. This has led to coffee having quite a bad reputation. Although there are some bad health effects related to the consumption of coffee, there are many Coffee health benefits. In recent times there have been many scientific papers that have linked the consumption with reductions in chronic illness. There has even been a study that has shown that having a cup of coffee a day will reduce the chances of you committing suicide by 13% per cup, other studies have shown that coffee higher's cholesterol oxidation.
This section of ‘Time for Coffee and tea’ takes an in-depth look into coffee health benefits and coffee health risks. It contains information on the chemical compounds that are found in coffee, and how they may affect your health; potential coffee benefits and adverse effects of coffee consumption; problems associated with scientific research.