Coffee is good for the heart -drink to your heart content?

by chee Leng (on coffee makers)
(Singapore)

Dr Labfranco D'Elia in his presentation to the European Society of Hypertension (ESH) for the European Meeting on Hypertension 2012 show his findings that moderate intake of coffee protect against iscehmic stroke.

Moderate intake of coffee refers to 1-3 cups of coffee, and that this can reduces the risk of cardiovascular events.

There are numerous reports on the benefits of coffee, but none is conclusive. As in, no report or findings would take the stand that coffee is good for you.

So, is coffee really good for you?

Here is my thought on how coffee can be healthy.

My $0.02

Listen to your body

I remember a study done on two groups of kids to assess if junk food is really bad for you. One group of kids was told to follow a healthy diet, another group was allowed to eat whatever they want.

However, they can only eat the things they want at regular meal times, i.e. they can choose to eat fried chicken wings every meal if they like to.

The study shows no negative impact on health after the research period. The researcher goes on to say that in fact, if the period would to lengthen, the kids that choose their food might be healthier.

Basically, he is saying that when your body needs a certain food, it would prompt your brain, and if you have too much of a certain food, it too would prompt your brain.

So, if you feels like you need that coffee, and you take it, according to this theory it would be good for your body.

Moderation

Even the consumption of too much water is bad for health. So, along the same line, moderation is the key to enjoy benefits of coffee.

So, if you need a cup or two, it is okay to go ahead. And that is probably where you should stop.

Personally, I think if one would to consume 1-2 cups of coffee per day, there should be no adverse health effects.

Make it neat

Another thought that I have is the "things" that we add into the coffee. If you want a coffee, then drink a coffee.

When you add in the milk, the sugar, the coloring, the chocolate, you might not be having a coffee at all. And the negative impact might be from the additives to your coffee rather than your coffee.

How it is being prepared

How the coffee is being treated is very important. Do you know that there are folks that loves (Robusta) coffee roasted with butter, sugar and maize?

This is known as Kopi and is very popular in South East Asia (Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia).

Make sure that your beans are roasted neat with no additives is equally important to give you a healthy cup of coffee.

That is my $0.02 on how coffee can be healthy, do you agree?