#26: The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth

Another day of our education of the 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth. Woo Hoo! Some of these you won't be surprised by, some you will. I'll take one out of each food group each day to mix it up a bit.

All information is from the book by jonny Bowden, Ph.D., C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth".

Day 26: Coffee

If you're surprised to find coffee on the list of the world's healthiest foods, you're not alone. To tell you the truth, so was I. For years I've taken the position that coffee is not such a terrible thing, though I've aways suspected that I was just a little prejudice and that my views were partly influenced by the fact that I love it so much. But when coffee showed up on a couple of my experts' top ten lists, I started really looking at the research and quickly realized that coffee was actually pretty darn good for you. No one was happier than me.

* Now let me be clear about one thing. Coffee is one of those substances about which it is possible to read the research a number of ways. One study shows that those drinking six or more cups a day are significantly less likely to have diabetes.

* Another study showed that caffeine increases exercise tolerance in patients with heart failure

* Other studies have shown it increases alertness and improves mental and physical performance in the short run

* According to the Nurses' Health Study, two or three cups a day may lower the incidence of Parkinson's and decrease gallstone formation in men.

* Finally a recent study showed that coffee maay protect against alcoholic liver disease--for every cup of java (up to four a day) the study charted about a 20 percent reduction in risk of alcoholic cirrhosis

*HOWEVER other research shows taht even one or two cups of coffee may possibly increase the risk of early miscarriage in normal pregnancy.

* It is well known that too much caffeine can cause nervousness and fitters and interfere with restful sleep

* three or more cups a day can seriously increase symptoms of PMS

* two or three cus can raise blood pressure

* It isn't clear exactly how caffeine increases blood pressure. Some research has found that peole who regularly drink caffeine have a higher average blood ressure than those who drink none. Other research has shown that yes, it raises blood ressure for a few minutes or even hours, but it doesn't cause ongoing hypertensive disorders. Still other research has suggested that regular consumers of caffeine actually develo a tolerance to it--and as a reult, caffeine doesn't have a long-term effect on their blood pressure

* If that wasn't confusing enough, a twelve-year study by Harvard researches of 155,000 women found that drinking caffeinated cola may be associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, but--get this-- the same causal relationship was NOT found with caffeinated coffee. In fact, the study suggested that women who drink caffeinated coffee may actually have a reduced risk of high blood pressure.

* So for now at least, it appears there's no good reason to forgo reasonable amounts of coffee unless, of course, you have a medical condition like hypertension, in which case coffee is robably NOT good idea.

* Coffee has more antioxidant activity than cocoa or tea

* a study in 2006 concluded that "Cunsumption of coffee, a major source of dietary antioxidants, may inhibit inflammation and therefore reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and other inflammation diseases in postmenopausal women." (This was done on postmenopausal women--and cautionw ould dictate that we shouldn't necessarily extraulate the results to the general poluation. Still the results are compelling at the least)

* Two of the antioxidants responsible for coffee's health benefits are chlorogenic acid and caffeic acid. Both are strong antioxidants, and coffee beans are one of the richest dietary sources of chlorogenic acid in the world.

* Coffee got a bad rap from the low-carb diet movement for a while because of the very questionable information that it significantly raises blood surgar and insulin. The truth is a bit more complicated:

* In a recent study coffee actually showed an inverse relationship with fasting insulin and with blood sugar markers, meaning it had a ositive effect that the researchers believed "could reduce the risk of type II diabetes" Nonetheless, chronic coffee consumption may raise blood sugar slightly, though what that really means from a weight loss point of view is very much in doubt.

*Chlorogenic acid--the same antioxidant in coffee that we've been talking about--reduces the absorption of new glucose and actually slows the release of sugar into the bloodstream after a meal. Caffeine, however, counters this effect--so decaf would be a great choice for diabetics and others concerned about raising blood sugar.

* The slight increase in blood sugar from caffeinated coffee is a boon for athletees, however, who need that blood sugar to fuel their muscles.

WORTH KNOWING

On the negative side--and this is why research is so confusing to so many--one study showed that high doses of chlorogenic acid (about twice what a coffee drinker might ingest) given on a daily basis raises blood levels of homocysteine by 12 ercent. Homocysteine is a nasty inflammatory molecule that is believed to be a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. (Just for the record, in teh same study, the equivalent of two liters a day of black tea also increased homocysteine by virtually the same amount.) But both coffee and black tea are loaded with antioxidants, and virtually every scientific reference on the subject suggests that chlorogenic acid might actually contribure to the prevention of cardiovascular disease. At this time, it apears to me that moderate coffee consumption has more in its favor than against it.

For previous posts:
ARTICHOKES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57017--1-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
OATMEAL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57180--2-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BEANS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57278--3-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
APPLES: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57482--4-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ALMONDS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57516--5-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
EDAMAME: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57602--6-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BUTTER/GHEE http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57689--7-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
EGGS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57791--8-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CRUSTACEA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/57940--9-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BEE POLLEN: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58069--10-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ACAI JUICE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58196--11-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CARDAMOM: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58290--12-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ALMOND OIL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58381--13-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
ARUGULA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58426--14-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
QUINOA: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58555--15-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
GARBANZO BEANS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58671--16-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
APRICOTS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58800--17-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
BRAZIL NUTS: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/58921--18-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
FERMENTED SOY: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59006--19-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CHEESE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59395--20-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CHICKEN AND TURKEY: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/59548--21-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
MACKEREL: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60071--22-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth?page=1#posts-719366
CHOCOLATE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60143--23-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth
CRANBERRY JUICE: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/60470--24-the-150-healthiest-foods-on-earth