Thursday, July 10, 2008

COFFEE!!! - Posted by Amberly

As I sit here drinking my creme brulee blend of foldgers coffee, I stumbled upon this article.

"Good news for coffee lovers. About two years ago, researchers from the University Innsbruck in Austria found caffeinated coffee can temporarily sharpen your focus and memory. After giving volunteers the caffeine equivalent of about two cups of coffee, they observed that their brain activity was increased in two locations—one being the part responsible for memory. Results were observed using MRI technology. Without caffeine, there was no increase in brain activity.

Then, earlier this year, another study published in a leading Neurology journal, found the effects of coffee may be longer lasting — specifically in women. This four-year long study involving about 7000 participants... all participants went through thorough baseline evaluations – cognitive function was tested, along with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other vascular issues. Participants were re-evaluated at the two-year mark, and again at the four year mark.

At the end of the four year period, researchers found that women age 65 and older who drank more than three cups of coffee per day (or the caffeine equivalent in tea) had 33 percent less decline in memory over time than women who drank one cup or less of coffee or tea per day. The results held up even after researchers adjusted for other factors that could affect memory abilities, such as age, education, baseline cognitive function, depression, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, medications, and other chronic illnesses. This caffeine-memory association was not observed in men — the authors hypothesize that perhaps that’s because men and women metabolize caffeine differently.

So if memory problems are a major concern for you, and if you don’t have a medical condition that precludes caffeine, feel free to indulge in a cup or two in the morning to jump-start your brain."

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/25572443?GT1=43001

So lets see.... that is 3 out of 4 Word Of Wisdom substances that have been debunked (coffee, tea, alcohol, & tobacco). Coffee, tea and alcohol have now all been proven to be good for your body, in moderation. I'm not putting any bets on tobacco going that direction, but I still enjoy my occassional cigar.

6 comments:

Brooke said...

The reason being, of course, that caffeine temporarily increases your blood pressure. The same reasone peolpe use caffeine to treat headaches. Caffeine will also temporarily improve your hand-eye coordination for the same reason. Of course regular excercize will do all these things for you, without the drawbacks. Caffeine is addictive, dehydrates your body (it has a laxative effect) and is known to cause rebound headaches. I would be interested to know who paid for that study.
Eric

Amberly said...

This study was done by the same people that are saying a cup of berries a day and a cup of dark leafy greens a day is healthy for you too. I bet they're wrong with that also? All three of these earth grown foods contain antioxidants that do a number of great things to our bodies. But, according to Mormons, if anyone says that a prohibited WOW substance is good, they must be wrong.

Caffeine in moderation is good for your body. It's natures way of letting you perk up when it needs it. Personally, I would rather get my caffeine from something natural, like coffee or tea, instead of loading my body with all kinds of chemicals found in soda.

A member out here who is in law school started drinking Mt Dews like crazy during finals time to stay awake. In addition to all those extra and pointless calories he put into his body, he loaded himself with icky chemicals. Coffee beans are great and were put on this earth for a reason. If there is a God, I really doubt he would be thrilled that certain groups of people were rejecting one of his greatest creations, which is to be enjoyed.

Brooke said...

I never said anything in the study was wrong or inaccurate. I disagree with your statement that coffee is good for your body based on a study that focused on one small aspect of the effects of coffee. I question the motives in the study because they never mentioned any of the downsides of caffeine, leading me to believe it wasn't completely objective. They didn't compare it to the effects of other scources of caffeine. I also never mentioned the Word of Wisdom. In any of my posts, I have refrained from referencing docrines or pracices of the LDS faith. I enjoy posting here, as most people I associate with (which is mostly limited to work) do not offer the same level of intellectual exchange. I would appreciate "a seperation of church and relationship." I enjoy religious discussion, but I have not attacked you or your beliefs for not being mormon, don't attack me or mine or "I will start to avoid you." (I'm not as worked up as that sounds, tried re-wording it a few times). I understand this is your place to express who you are and what you believe, and I support that. Really, I do. If that's a problem, I'll just take my ball and go home. (again, not angry, just making a point)

Amberly said...

What you said implied that you did not agree with the study, I may have misunderstood, but that is the impression I got.

There are plenty of downsides to caffeine, especially if you do not use it responsibly and in moderation.

The study wasn't ALL about caffeine. The study was about foods that improve mental health. Although coffee may dehydrate you because of the caffeine, the caffeine is also providing your body with good. If it dehydrates you, then drink some water. If you drink too much coffee, it will not benefit your body. Becoming addicted to ANYTHING is not good. Drinking about one cup a day is good for me, which is what I do. It's not too much caffeine, it wakes me up in the morning, it's delicious, and I take a big dump afterwords. I love it. However, I can not have it whenever I choose. I don't need it every day. I don't get a head ache when I don't have it, and I can skip a day of having coffee any time.

There have been many studies done on coffee, the negatives have already been discussed, which is why I believe they didn't discuss any of that in the article I read that information from. It is knew to researchers to discover that it is beneficial to your mental health which is why they included it in the study. Just like how not too long ago they discovered that coffee has antioxidants in it. If they find something NEW out about a food, they will publish the study. They don't need to publish the bad aspects of caffeine, because it's already been done.

I will seperate our discussions from mormonism from now on, I do enjoy our discussions so I hope you keep commenting. Just keep in mind that THIS post was a little more directed at the Church than some of the others. But I shouldn't have included you being mormon into my comment. Sorry for that.

Brooke said...

's all good. Hey, how come no one else comments anymore? I was hoping to get some group discussion goin on. I hope I haven't commendeered your blog. They do seem to chime in more on the comments more directed at the church. Good post, by the way.

Amberly said...

Coffee is really really good. Average calories in a cup . . . SEVEN!


-John