Heart Disease Prevention - Can Coffee Be Good For The Health?

Keeping While its health benefits are controversial, growing research has pointed out that moderate consumption of coffee might offer some protection against heart disease, Type-2 diabetes, liver disease, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke. It is also linked to lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease. Find out more at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/can-coffee-be-good-for-the-health.html

Heart Disease Prevention - How Is High Caffeine Linked To Heart Disease?

Effect of caffeine peaks within an hour after consumption, and the body eliminates half of it within about 4 to 6 hours. But how people react to caffeine really depend on gender, age, and health condition. Whether high caffeine intake would increase the risk of coronary heart disease is still debatable. Find out more at:

https://www.howtopreventheartdisease.com/how-is-high-caffeine-linked-to-heart-disease.html

Heart Disease Prevention - How Is Coffee Linked To Heart Disease?

Some earlier studies linked drinking coffee to increase in blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and even higher risk of heart attack and cardiac arrhythmias. Recent research has, however, suggested that coffee probably does not increase the likelihood of heart disease and in some cases, it may even be good for the heart. More details can be found at:

Heart Disease Prevention - How Is Coffee Linked To Heart Disease?

Would Coffee Raise Atrial Fibrillation Risk?

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common cardiac disorder, which occurs when the normal rhythmic pumping of the upper chambers of the heart (the atria) break down. Instead of a normal heartbeat, the atria pulse or fibrillate at a fast or irregular rate. AF can cause dizziness, chest pain, and shortness of breath. It increases a person's risk of stroke and heart failure. Individuals with AF have 6 times the risk of stroke and twice the risk of all-cause mortality compared to those without AF.

Lifestyle like physical activity and diet may play a role in affecting the risk of developing AF. Studies have shown that people with AF may reduce the symptoms if they have right diet. Certain heart-healthy foods like fish, fruits and vegetables may help maintain some control over the heart's rhythms. Some foods that raises the blood pressure or heart rate are certainly bad for the heart and should be avoided. These include foods high in fat, sodium, and sugar. Eating too much of these foods can more likely to trigger events such as heart attacks.

Patients with AF are often told to avoid stimulants like caffeine and alcohol. But the science on caffeine as a trigger for AF is somewhat mixed. Older research suggests there is a link while newer studies do not. Caffeine can be found in widely consumed beverages like coffee, tea and soda.

Researchers from University of Minnesota School of Public Health reported in Journal 'Circulation' that higher alcohol intake is consistently related with an increased AF risk, while moderate intake of alcohol and caffeine seem to have no effect. Their findings were published online September 11, 2010.

Consumption of alcohol and caffeine was not significantly associated with AF risk, as revealed in the findings that were published online November 24, 2010 in the journal 'The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition'.

The other systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies, which was published online September 5, 2013 in Journal 'Heart' by BMJ, indicated that caffeine does not increase the risk of AF. In fact, low-dose caffeine may even have a protective effect.

In 2014, researchers from State Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Disease, Beijing, China suggested that habitual caffeine intake is unlikely to increase AF risk. Their findings, which were published online January 6, 2014, argued that habitual caffeine consumption may actually reduce AF risk. The research involves analysis of 6 prospective cohort studies that included 228,465 participants. 3 of these studies were done in the US, 2 in Sweden, and 1 in Denmark.

Even though the study suggested that there is a protective effect of caffeine against AF, it is not recommended to use caffeine to treat AF on this basis. The results do reassure AF patients to continue to enjoy a cup or 2 of coffee every day without worry.

Nevertheless, one should note that too much caffeine could raise the blood pressure and heart rate that might trigger episodes of AF. So, stick to no more than 2 or 3 cups a day, or switch to decaf, or do both.

Heart Disease Prevention - What People Should And Should Not Do To Lose Weight?

Losing weight means burning more calories. The body burns calories during exercise to fuel the activity. Even after exercising, the body is still burning more calories. While exercising is paramount, diet also plays a part in managing weight. Eating protein-rich diet can help burn... Read more at:

Heart Disease Prevention - What People Should And Should Not Do To Lose Weight?

What Foods Diabetics Should Avoid?

Diet plays an important role for diabetics in managing their conditions. Whether one likes it or not, consumption of certain foods should be minimized or even avoided.

White rice, for instance, has been an inseparable part of daily diet for most people of Asian origin. But for Type-2 diabetics, white rice consumption should be reduced. This is because researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found that people had higher risk of developing Type-2 diabetes if they ate 5 or more servings of white rice a week. On the other hand, people who substituted at least a third of their white-rice servings with brown rice had their risk cut by as much as 16 percent. Comparing with white rice, brown rice has more fiber that can help maintain blood sugar levels stable.

Likewise, white bread should be replaced by whole meal bread. White rice is made of refined flour that can be quickly digested by body. The quick digestion can cause the blood sugar to rise. Studies have shown that people who eat more whole grains and fewer refined grains including white bread have less of the type of body fat that can trigger heart disease and Type-2 diabetes.

Though cutting red meat from the diet entirely is unnecessary, eating lots of red and processed meats like bacon and cold cuts, all high in saturated fat, could most likely lead to development of Type-2 diabetes. A large study reported that people who ate processed meat (a hot dog or sausage or 2 slices of bacon) once a day had their risk of getting diabetes more than doubled. The risk can simply be lower by substituting one serving of red and processed meats with healthier sources of protein like nuts and low-fat dairy products.

Nevertheless, one should note that too much protein can raise the insulin, too. Protein can help lose weight and is essential to a healthy blood sugar level, as long as one does not over consume protein powders and eating animal proteins. Most people only need 0.5 grams to 1 gram of protein per body weight per day and those amounts should be split up into multiple servings, and not consumed at one time.

Saturated fats, the prime culprit for heart disease, can be found not only in red meat and butter but also whole-milk dairy products. In several studies, a diet high in saturated fats has been linked to insulin resistance. Switching to no-fat or 1-percent dairy products can get all the benefits of calcium without the drawbacks and reduce calories to help with weight loss.

Caffeine is another one that can increase insulin if excess amount is consumed. Drinking a cup or 2 of coffee a day might be good for the insulin, but more than that can cause the insulin to shoot up. When the insulin surges, one can feel moody, shaky, irritable and craving sweets. This will in turn cause one to reach for more caffeine or more sugar. 

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Too Much Coffee Is Bad?

Coffee not only contains many nutrients it is also the large source of antioxidants. Studies had shown that coffee may decrease the risk for many kinds of cancers, stroke and heart disease. It may also prevent Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer's disease and Type-2 diabetes. Coffee also contains a material called caffeine. More can be found at: Heart Disease Prevention - Why Too Much Coffee Is Bad?

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Energy And Sports Drinks Should Be Consumed With Caution?

Several recent studies in the United States have found the rising popularity of these drinks among youth. For instance, a study published in May 2015 highlighted that about 1 in 5 youth up to 17 years old in the American consumes sports drinks at least once a week. Meanwhile, sales of energy drinks rose by 53 percent from 2007 to 2012 in contrast to decreasing sales for most other sugary drinks. Click the following link for more details:

Heart Disease Prevention - Why Energy And Sports Drinks Should Be Consumed With Caution?

Heart Disease Prevention - Would Coffee Cut Diabetes Risk?

Health effects of coffee is controversial. Extensive scientific research has been carried out to find out the health effect of coffee consumption, and the general consensus among health experts is that moderate coffee consumption in healthy individuals is either essentially benign or mildly beneficial. Find out more at: Heart Disease Prevention - Would Coffee Cut Diabetes Risk?

Do You Depend On Coffee To Boost Your Energy?

Do you depend on coffee to boost your energy? Are you drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day? If yes, then you should pay attention to what have happened not long ago.

Recently, I learnt from newspapers that a 17-year-old English girl was rush to hospital with palpitations and breathing difficulties after she drank 7 double espressos within a few hours.

This rare incident occurred in August 2007. The young girl was helping at her family's sandwich shop. She chose to drink espressos to help her stay aware during her shift.

Isn't this horrifying? How can this happen?

According to doctor's diagnosis, the excessive caffeine contained in the coffee did help energise her initially, but it ended up making her heart beat faster than normal and gave her a fever: the high amount of caffeine had actually sent her body into a mild state of shock.

Like many of you, I am a coffee lover, too. If I don't have a cup of coffee for whatever reason on any single day, I will just have a feeling that something is missing in that day. But I am not addicted to coffee, and I normally limit my consumption to only 1 - 2 cups, occasionally more but definitely not exceeding 4 cups.

Why is that so?

I don't drink coffee to boost my energy, as the English girl and many other people do. In general, the caffeine intake should not exceed 450mg a day, which is equivalent to 4 cups of coffee. This is advice given by most doctors.

Of course, this also depends on the type of beverage one consumes. For instance, one shot of double espresso contains about 150mg of caffeine. So, one should drink not more than 3 cups of espressos per day.

Gender, age, weight, height or smoking habits also plays a part in determining one's sensitivity to caffeine. For example, some people can drink several cups of coffee within an hour without any side effect while others can take not more than 1 cup of coffee per day.

When people want to keep themselves aware, they will usually turn to coffee. Why?

Caffeine can actually stimulate our body's nervous and cardiovascular systems, leading to increased attentiveness, decreased fatigue and an elevated mood. But if one over-depends on coffee regularly and heavily to boost energy, it is likely to create a dependence that leads to increased tolerance to its effects. These people will feel drowsiness, anxiety, headaches, fatigue and irritability if they do not have one cup of coffee for any single day.

Moreover, caffeine also increases the production of stomach acids that will bring on psychiatric disturbances like sleep disorders and anxiety.

People cannot sleep well during the night will in turn affect their daytime functioning. Symptoms such as mood swings, lack of concentration and poor performance at work will surface.

Instead of depending on coffee, having a good night's rest and adequate physical activity at least 30 minutes and three times a week have been shown to help keep energy levels up.

I have also compiled an article about the relationship between coffee and heart disease. If interested, just click the below title:

"The Good and Bad of Coffee"

Hypertension And Caffeine

While it is still not clear how caffeine can contribute to hypertension, a 4-week study had suggested that people who are at risk of developing hypertension may want to reconsider before taking another cup of coffee.

During the study, healthy adult volunteers, who had their blood pressures measured to monitor their responses to caffeine intake, had minor change in blood pressure as a result of their morning coffee. However, a greater effect on blood pressure was found for people who had a family history of hypertension or with borderline blood pressure.

The research, therefore, concluded that people with or at risk of developing hypertension should not consume more than 4 cups of coffee a day.

Is Coffee A Healthy Drink?

Most people will regard coffee as a bad beverage because of the caffeine it contains. As a matter of fact, British Dietetic Association has advised people not to drink too much coffee because this can make us feel jittery or unable to fall asleep. Pregnant women should take no more than 2 cups per day.

On the other hand, recent studies have suggested otherwise: a moderate consumption of coffee may in fact good for us. A Harvard School of Public Health study had found that men who drank more than 6 cups of coffee a day could reduce their risk for Type 2 diabetes by 50 percent and women by nearly 30 percent. As we all know, diabetes is a risk factor for heart disease. If its risk can be reduced, then the possibility of developing heart disease might be much lower too.