Can't Cure Common Cold, But Coffee Benefits Perk

Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Diabetes;  Alzheimer's / Dementia;  Parkinson's Disease
Article Date: 25 Jan 2007 - 0:00 PDT

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Its caffeine can bring jitters and its color can stain teeth, yet moderate consumption of coffee an all-world beverage if ever there was one is being shown to have generally positive and protective effects on the emergence of disease conditions according to this month's issue of Food Technology magazine.

In its regular Food, Medicine & Health column, Food Technology reports that recent studies of coffee in combination with reviews of research gathered over the past 30 years reveal that consumption improves glucose regulation and lowers the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, among other favorable effects.

"Many negative health myths about coffee drinking may now be transformed into validated health benefits," says the column's co-author, Roger A. Clemens, a functional food expert with the Institute of Food Technologists and nutritional biochemist.

"Scientific evidence now suggests that moderate coffee consumption 3 to 5 cups a day may be associated with reduced risks of certain disease conditions," he says, such as Alzheimer's disease, kidney stones, depression, and others.

Another area of coffee's positive affect on the body is its possible cancer-protective properties, possibly due to its naturally occurring and brewing-produced antioxidants.

Some research strongly links coffee's properties to protect blood vessels from dilating as one possible mechanism that brain cells use to defend against Parkinson's disease. One cup of coffee a day may as much as halve the risk of developing this disease, the article states.

Published monthly by IFT, Food Technology provides news and analysis of the development, use, quality, safety, and regulation of food sources, products, and processes. The latest issue is accessible online at http://www.ift.org/foodtechnology.

Founded in 1939, and with world headquarters in Chicago, Illinois, USA, the Institute of Food Technologists is a not-for-profit international scientific society with 22,000 members working in food science, technology and related professions in academia, government and industry. As the society for food science and technology, IFT brings sound science to the public discussion of food issues. For more on IFT, see http://ift.org.

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