Coffee has health benefits

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

Recent research suggests that coffee is, on balance, beneficial to your health.
Like green and black tea, coffee is high in antioxidants which are thought to protect cells from inflammation and other damage. A new review from experts at the Mayo Clinic rounds up the latest research on coffee and health. They say that recent work shows that regular coffee consumption can help against both heart disease and diabetes.

A study of 890 older women has also shown that coffee consumption throughout life will help preserve cognitive skills. And the long-running Nurses' Health Study has revealed that caffeine intake through coffee reduced the risk of Parkinson's disease among those who were not on postmenopausal hormone therapy (although it seemed to increase the risk among those who were on hormone therapy). And too much caffeine from coffee can cause short-term symptoms, like restlessness, anxiety and headache. However, tor most people, two to four cups a day of coffee will not do any harm and may even be helpful, conclude the experts.

Source
Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource February 2007

Please take a moment to give us your comments. For questions about Health matters you may check our "Questions & Answers" Portal and Service.