Coffee – More Anti-Oxidants To Go With My Chocolate

For those of you who read my blog on chocolate, you may be starting to wonder about my dietary habits. Coffee and chocolate are daily staples and I suspect that I am getting a hefty amount of caffeine per day. My dark chocolate habit, albeit moderate, likely results in 10 mg of caffeine being ingested. (A bar has about 30 mg of caffeine.) However, my Starbucks addiction multiplies this by a factor of 10! A grande cup of Starbucks coffee has between 260-564 mg of caffeine per the website www.caffeineinformer.com. The Canadian Bureau of Chemical Safety suggests a limit of 400-450 mg per day. Pregnant women should limit caffeine consumption further as it crosses the placenta. Mayo Clinic reports that doses above 500 mg may result in insomnia, palpitations, cardiac arrhythmias, anxiety, gastrointestinal distress and reflux-related symptoms, bladder irritability, calcium balance shifts and a rise in blood pressure with sporadic use. Withdrawal from caffeine can include headaches that last 3-4 days, irritability, depression, drowsiness. As well, coffee contains compounds that decrease your body’s ability to absorb iron and zinc.

So why do I drink the stuff? Are there any beneficial effects?

Like chocolate, coffee has antioxidants, not to mention 600 volatile components. One of them, chlorogenic acid is felt to protect against the development of insulin resistance and diabetes. Rat studies suggest this may be due to its impairing the absorption of glucose in the gastrointestinal tract. Long-term studies that examine incidence of adult-onset diabetes in coffee drinkers show a significant decrease in relative risk that becomes more significant with more coffee consumption whether it be caffeinated or decaffeinated.

However, this area of research is very confusing as studies that look at the impact of caffeine, as well as coffee, on insulin sensitivity and glucose levels show an increase in blood sugar levels and a decrease in insulin sensitivity. These factors would make you think it could actually increase the risk of diabetes. Not clear at all!  But, I’m having my chocolate and coffee because I want to, not to affect my risk of diabetes!

Caffeine is a methylxanthine that acts as a central nervous system stimulant through release of epinephrine and elevation of cortisol, as well as indirectly increasing dopamine activity. There is evidence that coffee consumption may be protective against the development of Parkinson’s disease in men, a disease associated with low dopamine levels due to breakdown of cells that produce dopamine in the brain.

Coffee is also felt to be protective against the development of hepatocellular liver cancer as well as cirrhosis. However, this protection required consumption of 5 or more cups a day, perhaps refuting the adage, “moderation in all things.”

Having researched the coffee conundrum, I will continue to enjoy my grande cup o’ java and my dark chocolate. For me, the benefit outweighs the risk. Perhaps my next blog will be Half and Half and Sweet n Low, friend or foe?

REFERENCES:

Hu, Frank H, et al. Coffee, Caffeine and Risk of Type 2 Diabetes, A prospective cohort study in younger and middle aged U. S. women. Diabetes Care. February 1, 2006 29:2 p 398-403

Hu, Gang, et al. Coffee and tea consumption and the risk of Parkinson’s disease. Movement Disorders. November 15 2007: P: 2242-8