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Last posts on private forums:  sare  2008-06-16 09:56:33 matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:59 pieniadz 2008-04-12 20:52:26
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Last posts on private blogs: matthew 2008-04-12 21:25:17 mary 2008-04-12 19:27:47 |
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Lastly added medical terms:
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You are in: Main Page / Medical articles / Dietetics / Pros and Cons of Coffee
Pros and cons of drinking coffee include several arguments. Read the article to get information about pluses and minuses of coffee.
Coffee is a plant which has achieved an astonishing success. Millions of people can't imagine beginning their day without a cup of coffee. The history of coffee is extremely old and it dates back to ancient times when shepherds in Ethiopia noticed that their goat were energetic and happy after having eaten leaves and fruit from one bush. This way they discovered coffee and they began to grow this amazing plant.
Nowadays, coffee is grown in hot climates in subtropical zone where temperatures are hot enough to make it grow fast. Although there are 50 countries which produce coffee, Brazil is the biggest exporter of coffee in the world.
There are many kinds of coffee, they differ in size, shape, color, taste and flavor. The best coffee, which is very aromatic and has wonderful taste, is called 'arabica'. It grows at high altitudes, on steep mountain slopes.
Coffee seed contain essential oils, 11% of fat, 13% of protein, from 0.3 to 2.5% of caffeine, small amounts of adenine, guanine and 11% of water. Coffee is the largest source of caffeine, one cup of the drink (150ml) contains 120mg of caffeine. Coffee works better and has stronger effect in people who drink it regularly, a couple of times a day. Even though the person's organism absorbs caffeine within several minutes after drinking, coffee has the biggest effect 3-4 hours afterwards. Caffeine influences the organism in many ways: it stimulates the nervous system, improves mental and physical functioning. Moreover, it fastens the metabolism and increases the amount of heat expelled from the organism, that is why it is often a substantial element of diets. Caffeine is also an ingredient of painkillers and medicines used for cold.
Caffeine is a toxic substance that causes addiction, the effects of using caffeine are often compared to the effects of nicotine or even heroine intake. That is why, a bad mood in the morning may be caused by the prolonged abstinence from caffeine during the night, the organism does not absorb caffeine.
That is why you should limit the amount of coffee consumed, it's enough to drink 100-200 ml to achieve the stimulating and energizing effect. It is advisable to drink one cup of coffee the morning and in the evening. According to doctors, people should not consume more than 6 cups of coffee every day as a large amount may cause delirium. 75 cups of coffee drunk within a half of an hour is a deadly dose. People who suffer from hypertension, kidney or heart diseases should drink less coffee, maximum 1 cup a day, and try to reduce its consumption to the minimum.
Decaffeinated coffee is more harmful to persons health than ordinary coffee because of the substances used for its production (methyl chloride and ethyl octane).
The effects of drinking coffee:
- improves blood circulation in the brain
- energizes and stimulates the organism to work
- reduces the feeling of tiredness
- has anti depressing property
- stimulates intellectual abilities
- improves thinking
- regulates blood coagulation
- improves blood circulation in the heart and improves work of the airway system
- improves the metabolism of muscles and fat tissue
- reduces the tiredness of muscles
- acts as a dope substance
- has diuretic effects
- brings relief for people who suffer from headaches and migraines
Side effects of caffeine:
- pregnant women should not drink coffee
- too much caffeine consumed makes it difficult to get pregnant
- causes cancers in the urinary bladder and pancreas
- it increases the arterial blood pressure, so people with hypertension should not drink caffeine drinks
- fastens the heart beat and increases the cholesterol level
- increases the risk of osteoporosis
- causes headaches, dizziness, sleeplessness, irritability and nervousness
- should not be given to children and teenagers
Several pieces of advice concerning coffee:
- it should be stored in temperature of 0 to 22 degrees of Celsius
- it should be stored in glass or metal boxes, tightly closed
- ground coffee can't be stored for more than 30 days as it looses its fragrance
- it is best to buy small amounts of coffee and grin the amounts we need
- it will taste better if we put the box with coffee to the oven before percolating
- the best taste can be achieved when 1-2 tablespoons of coffee are given to 150ml of water
- coffee that is percolated for too short is sour and flat while percolated for too long is tasteless and without flavor
- a pinch of salt added to the coffee will improve its taste and aroma
Added by:
mary
not connected with health care system
Added on:
2008-06-11 11:21:20 ,
Updated:
2008-06-11 11:31:28
Bibliography:
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