Coffee Is Good For You

Yet more evidence that coffee is good for you….

In moderation!

Understanding Coffee’s Health Benefits: Research and Recommendations

That’s 400 milligrams a day—about four or five cups of coffee— According to the FDA (the US Food and Drug Administration).

It’s backed up by the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the British Heart Foundation and now some research by the University of Verona, which found that drinking doses of espresso could reduce the risk of a toxic protein called tau from stumbling together in cells in a petri dish.

Tau is a toxic protein whose slow growth of tau in the brain is one of the factors of Alzheimer’s disease.

The Broad Spectrum of Coffee’s Protective Effects

But coffee is cited as a factor in protecting health from a number of conditions.

They include a lower risk of several cancers, including prostate, endometrial, skin, and liver cancer, as well as type 2 diabetes, gallstones, and gout, not to mention cirrhosis of the liver.

There are also beneficial effects on Parkinson’s disease and depression.

Nevertheless studies suggest that some groups notably pregnant women and those at risk of fracture (such as postmenopausal women) are excluded from the findings.

Coffee Consumption: Balancing Benefits and Precautions

However, as the British Heart Foundation notes, there is no clear measure of strength of coffee per cup or size of coffee portions in many studies.

And, as the BHF report notes “it is important to note that the reduction in risk of death from drinking coffee, at less than 10 per cent relative risk, is small”.

Either way, you can have your four or five cups per day and have some confidence it is protecting you from several potential illnesses!

And that can’t be bad!