Coffee: The elixir of life?

By: Amruth Chinnappa

A cup of freshly brewed coffee is one of life’s little moments of heaven. The taste coupled with its aroma assaults the senses with every sip all the while increasing the craving for more. This guilty pleasure is enjoyed frequently by many, with each successive mug promised to be the last of the day, but it’s time to ease our conscience. Studies conducted by The American Heart Association and The University of Colorado School of Medicine has shown correlations between increased coffee consumption and a reduced risk of heart failure and stroke. The researchers involved used data from the Framingham Heart Study to come to this conclusion.

A new outlook

The Framingham Heart Study began in 1948 and has been continued till now, making it the longest active study in the world. It is based out of a city named Framingham located in Massachusetts and involves 5209 people. The scientists from The American Heart Association and The University of Colorado School of Medicine used machine learning—an artificial intelligence which identifies patterns in big datasets—to analyze the conditions and came to this conclusion.

The control group, which drank one cup of the choice brew, exhibited an 8% decrease in any prevalence of heart failure and stroke. Three to five cups of coffee has shown a 15% decrease, while curiously, the risk drops to 12% after 5 cups. The study does not show a cause and effect relation; rather, a correlation between coffee and heart health.

Global validation

Similar studies carried out in South Korea with a test group of 25,000 people have shown that drinking moderate amounts of coffee is linked to a reduction in the premature signs of heart problems. Another study by Stanford University reported a direct relation between caffeine intake and the lifespan. Human ageing and the chronic diseases accompanying it are associated with a fundamental inflammatory mechanism. Coffee is shown to counteract the chemical reactions responsible for this.

Antioxidants: Coffee-1 tea-0

Although there have been many tests about caffeine consumption and health, coffee is made up of many other compounds such as antioxidants which are beneficial to the body. Chlorogenic acids (CGAs) are phenolic compounds which make up 12% of the dry weight of green unroasted coffee beans. They account for the bitter taste of the drink but are valuable as antioxidants.

Oxidation is a chemical process which results in the formation of highly volatile free radicals. These free radicals lead to chain reactions and result in widespread damage to cells. Antioxidants are entities which can inhibit oxidation and are as such, important for healthy cell functioning. The concentration of CGAs in a cup of coffee is about 20 to 625 mg, compared to concentrations consistently below 60 mg in most teas.

The ultimate cure?

Apart from these major benefits, the beverage showcases its uses in many other aspects as well. A cup of Joe an hour before the gym leads to a better workout. Adrenaline production increases by 11% to 12% and provides more energy to the individual. It’s also a viable source of Magnesium and Potassium, both necessary to generate insulin, effective to decrease hunger pangs and the risk of diabetes. It’s also shown to reduce the risk of Prostate cancer and endometrial cancer by a whopping 25% and slows down the advent of Parkinson’s disease and dementia.

The yin to the yang

As with everything, coffee does have its pitfalls. On an empty stomach, it can lead to an increase in gastric juices, resulting in bloating and gastroenteritis. Caffeine is also the world’s most consumed psycho-active drug and can lead to an overdose if its concentrations reach 180mg/L—equivalent to drinking 30 cups of coffee in succession. If beyond the capacity of the body, consumption of any fluid of this quantity results in regurgitation but may also lead to death, even in the case of water.

Coffee gears up the body making the mind sharp, but does not really cure exhaustion, instead merely casting it aside. The energy drop experienced after the effects wear off is of a magnitude several times greater than before. It also results in an increase of melatonin generation. Melatonin is responsible for the sleep patterns of the system and can keep a person lying awake at night if produced in excess.

A coffee lover’s Amrutha

Mankind’s affiliation with coffee goes back hundreds of years and has resulted in many forms of processing and consumption. For example, civet coffee is the most expensive coffee in the world and collected from the droppings of civets which have eaten the coffee bean. The digestive processes of the cat-like animal give the bean a unique taste and it sells for $500 a pound in the market and is definitely an addition to the bucket list.

The Amrutha sourced from Devas and Asuras while churning the Milky Sea was rumoured to bestow immortality upon the drinker. Coffee would certainly qualify as a modern-day Amrutha—if not the physical nature of immortality, definitely for the never-ending feeling of bliss upon drinking it.

Featured Image Source: Visual Hunt