This is the good and bad of drinking coffee every day according to experts
According to a recent report on coffee consumption habits in Spain, carried out by the Café & Té chain, 63% of Spaniards over 15 years of age (about 22 million people) say they drink at least one coffee a day. It concludes that the most frequent coffee drinkers here drink an average of 3.6 cups of coffee a day during the week. On weekends the average drops to 2.7 cups a day, but in any case, more than one. So no, there is practically no adult in this country and with this frenetic pace of life who has not tried coffee. And without studying, you only have to look at the coffee boom and the constant coffee shops that open in Madrid and beyond with coffees with names and surnames as their flag. Coffee is a source of antioxidants and just smelling it reduces stress The benefits of coffee have been repeated ad nauseam, as well as its negative effects. A study by the University of Scranton has placed it as the first source of antioxidants in the diet, as much as fruits and vegetables that usually occupy the first places, and another by the University of Seoul (it must be for studies) has even stated that simply the aromas of coffee cause changes in the brain proteins related to stress, reducing it. We have also told you here that coffee helps you lose weight, but is everything that is filtered gold? A research by the School of Public Health at Harvard University highlights that coffee is an indisputable source of vitamin B2, magnesium, of course caffeine and those "plant chemicals called polyphenols". From the Department of Pharmacology at the Complutense University of Madrid, researchers Quiñones and Aleixandre explain at length the benefits of the latter, summarised as "they are fundamentally a consequence of their antioxidant properties. These compounds have vasodilatory effects, are also capable of improving the lipid profile and have clear anti-inflammatory effects". On the other hand, you may remember that in 1991 coffee was included in a list of possible carcinogens by the World Health Organization. However, in 2016 it was removed due to research that claimed the opposite, that there was a lower risk of certain cancers among those who drink coffee regularly. These are the ups and downs of this complex drink that we try to unravel. "The human response to coffee or caffeine can vary substantially between individuals. Low to moderate doses of caffeine (50 to 300 mg) can cause an increase in alertness, energy and ability to concentrate, while higher doses can have negative effects such as anxiety, restlessness, insomnia and increased heart rate," says the aforementioned Harvard report. Coffee is more healthy than harmful We go into detail thanks to one of the heads of its Nutrition Department, Frank Hu: "The general evidence shows that coffee is more healthy than harmful," he explained in a publication in Discover. According to him, moderate coffee consumption (about 2 to 5 cups a day) is linked to a lower likelihood of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, liver and endometrial cancers, Parkinson's disease, and depression. "It's even possible that people who drink coffee may reduce their risk of premature death" - that's nothing: if you drink coffee, you'll live longer. So why has this drink sometimes been attacked? He says that historically, many study participants also smoked, which may have led researchers to think coffee was responsible. As always, he advocates moderation, and here comes (also as always) the bad part. For most people, including you, coffee does add health benefits, yes, but in his post, he warns of certain groups that should be careful: "Not much is known about the effects of coffee on children, and caffeine could be harmful to pregnancy. Too much can also cause anxiety in people with panic or anxiety disorders." It weakens bones and takes away sleep Experts from the Spectrum nutrition clinic also stress that it can cause calcium loss, which is eliminated in excess through urine and can weaken bones in the long term and, as is always said, it takes away sleep: "Sleep loss is a real problem for people who consume large quantities of coffee. The guideline to remember is that coffee usually takes about 6 hours to completely leave the system, so it is best not to drink much or anything after 6 p.m.in the afternoon." How to make coffee healthier If you are a regular consumer, they suggest making it with a paper filter, "because unfiltered coffee is associated with higher rates of premature death and may contain compounds that raise LDL (or "bad" cholesterol) levels. With these things in mind, don't worry, your couple of coffees will still taste great.