In the old days, a simple cup of coffee could inspire a clash of emotions. This stuff was so tasty… so energising… But so addictive, too! An evil drug! A mind-rotting scourge… like crack cocaine or daytime TV.
The media told me all this. And therefore it was TRUE. Oh the guilt! The GUILT!
And so I mentally lashed myself every time I reached for the second pot to keep me going at work.
It’s all changed now, though.
Just look what they’re saying about coffee this month…
A new hope in the fight against Alzheimer’s
Emblazoned on the BBC News website on the 5th of July: “Drinking five cups of coffee a day could reverse memory problems seen in Alzheimer’s disease, US scientists say.” Apparently, in the labs, mice were given largish amounts of caffeine. Not in big steaming mugs from Costa, I might add, but in 500 milligram doses. These mice showed a 50% reduction in their levels of ‘beta amyloid protein”. No I didn’t immediately know what this was. But apparently this stuff can form damaging clumps in the brains of patients with dementia. Of course, this kind of study is on our rodent friends, and not on people yet.
But this is yet another significant chapter in the story of coffee. Far from being a demonic substance, more and more research suggests that a moderate dose of caffeine van have positive effects.
Why the coffee-hating ‘do gooders’ got it wrong
It’s time we took a more sensible approach to coffee. I think a lot of damage has been done by the food scares and fads of the 70s and 80s. Back then we were pushed into low fat diets and sugar-free foods. These have subsequently been found to be either pointless, or even dangerous. Butter was replaced by margarines. This synthetic food is now accused of being high in trans fatty acids – a substance that many critics claim that can triple your risk of coronary heart disease.(Marvellous! Let’s thank the health food Mafia for that!)
Sugar was replaced by sweeteners like aspartame. Today, this substance stands accused of being linked to 92 health problems including abdominal pain, arthritis, asthma, chronic coughs, chronic fatigue, depression, headaches, heart palpitations, hypertension, impotency, insomnia, irritability, memory loss, muscle spasms, nausea, rashes, tinnitus and blurred vision. (So that went well, then).
At the same time as these poisons were recommended as the ‘healthy alternative’, good old fashioned staples like coffee replaced by horrible decaffeinated versions.
But since the ’90s, the tables have turned.
Could coffee even protect your eyesight?
The caffeine in coffee is said to lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, headaches and even cavities. Studies have shown that caffeine can improve your attention span and boost brainpower. A 2007 study, reported in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry, suggests that drinking coffee can even protect your eyesight. Italian researchers looked at the coffee drinking and smoking habits of 166 people with a condition called ‘blepharospasm’. This is where you get an uncontrollable spasm in your eyelid. It’s not just annoying… it can lead to blindness. Now it’s claimed that one or two cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of this condition.
In January 2007, something called the Journal of Pain (nice name!) suggested that drinking coffee could help reduce the pain you get after exercise. The study found that two cups of coffee can cut muscle pain by up to 48%.
Why caution’s needed
Now I’m not suggesting for a minute that coffee is a new health drink, to be guzzled wantonly throughout the day. Experts say that 200 milligrams (two cups of coffee) is the optimal dose. Yes, the recent dementia study suggests five cups, but remember this is an early experiment. Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer’s Research Trust, told the BBC:
“In this study on mice with symptoms of Alzheimer’s, researchers found that caffeine boosted their memory. We need to do more research to find out whether this effect will be seen in people.”
As always, I’ll keep tracking the fascinating story of coffee.
