coffee

Leave a comment Posted on May 2, 2015May 1, 2015 Cardiovascular disease, Diet

What is Arrhythmia? And can coffee help?

Supraventricular Tachycardia

I get quite a few press releases in my inbox every day and most don’t get passed me scanning the headline. Sorry PR girls everywhere.

But a couple of days ago I saw something which I though might be of genuine interest to our readers. Before I begin a couple of points of disclosure. Firstly I’ma major league coffee fan. (Espresso since you ask and we even have our own machine which makes if from the beans). Secondly the information presented below comes from a coffee industry body called the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee.

So it turns out that in 2011 an academic paper entitled “Coffee, Caffeine, and Risk of Hospitalization for Arrhythmias ” by AL Klatsky (among others) was published which a”failed to detect any increased risk of arrhythmia in relation to caffeine intake. In fact, a small yet significant risk reduction was found in this study for arrhythmias among coffee drinkers. ”

Which in layperson’s terms mean that coffee may not be as bad for the heart as was previously thought.

So what actually is Arrhythmia?

Arrhythmia is an alteration in the rate or rhythm of the heartbeat. The most common types of arrhythmia are as follows:

• Atrial Fibrillation: The heart contracts at a very high rate and in an irregular way. is the most common cardiac arrhythmia, occurring in 1-2% of the general population. Overall, more than 6 million Europeans suffer from AF and its prevalence is expected to increase more than two-fold over the next 50 years. This is significant when at least 1% of the annual healthcare budget of Western European countries is spent on the management of AF.
• Bradycardia: The heart beats more slowly than normal
• Ventricular Fibrillation: A rapid and disorganised rhythm of heartbeats
• Supraventricular Tachycardia: A heart rhythm disorder with periods of abnormally fast heart rate

Most incidences of arrhythmia are harmless. However, arrhythmia can occasionally be more serious as the
heart may not be able to pump enough blood to the body, limiting oxygen and nutrient supply to the tissues around the body.

It has been suggested that 3-5 cups a day can play its part in a healthy diet.

Leave a comment Posted on March 25, 2015March 25, 2015 Cancer, Diet

Coffee might help prevent liver cancer according to new research

Photo by Marin at FreeDigitalPhoitos.com

This just dropped into my inbox and as a enthusiastic coffee swiller I thought I would share it with you!

A new report, Diet, Nutrition, Physical Activity and Liver Cancer, published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in partnership with the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) and the World Cancer Research Fund’s International Continuous Update Project (CUP). The report finds that drinking coffee may lower risk for liver cancer, a disease that is the second leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide2. In Europe, approximately 63,500 new cases are diagnosed annually.

Coffee contains a variety of naturally occurring compounds that are currently being studied for their

Coffee Beans

anti-cancer potential. “It may act on liver enzymes that eliminate carcinogens, for example,” said Stephen Hursting, Ph.D., M.P.H., researcher at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill and one of the CUP expert panellists. “Because coffee is consumed in such a variety of ways, however, it is not yet possible to determine the amount or style of preparation that provides optimal protection.”
Collectively analysing 34 studies involving over 8.2 million people and over 24,500 cases of liver cancer, the new report is the most in-depth review to date of global research linking diet, physical activity, and weight to the risk of developing liver cancer. It follows a 2013 CUP report that found coffee to be protective against endometrial cancer.

The findings of the report provide further support to the body of research that suggests moderate coffee consumption (3-5 cups per day) may reduce the risk of developing liver cancer. For more information on the potential protective effects of coffee consumption on liver function, please visit our topic overview and watch our informative animation.

So time to put the kettle on I think.

Leave a comment Posted on November 14, 2014November 14, 2014 Diabetes, Patient Talk

World Diabetes Day – Coffee may reduce risk of type 2 diabetes say scientists #wdd

Coffee and diabetes

Okay may I put my hand up and confess I love coffee so I’m always happy to repeat what I see as good news.

Indeed I covered various health benefits of coffee and caffeine in the past.

Given that today is World Diabetes Day I should not have been too surprised that I would get press releases telling me useful things about diabetes that I really did not want to know.

However I am delighted to share an exception with you my readers.

The Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee informs me that moderate consumption of coffee may decrease an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Indeed drinking three to four cups will reduce the risk by 25%.

They have just published a report which suggest that decaffeinated coffee provided better protection than its colleague with caffeine. Filtered is better for diabetes than boiled. So it is something else in the coffee which helps rather than caffeine.

Which leads me to the conclusion that I should drop round and visit the espresso machine in the kitchen!

Leave a comment Posted on November 12, 2014November 11, 2014 Diet, Patient Talk

Body of research supports the role of coffee consumption in mental performance

Is coffee good for you?

New Research supports the positive effect of caffeinated coffee on mental performance. This suggests that a relationship has been established between a 75mg serving of caffeine (the amount in approximately one regular cup of coffee) and both increased attention and alertness, mainly in situations of lethargy 1.

Recent studies have also shown that drinking caffeinated coffee can help improve alertness. For example , drinking coffee can improve alertness and concentration during long distance driving 2.

Furthermore, brain mapping technology indicates that caffeine is not linked to dependence. This is supported by the fact that individuals do not develop a tolerance to the stimulant effects of caffeine 4. In fact, American Psychological Association also does not recognize caffeine as being an addictive substance 5.

Most people will consume a level of caffeine they are comfortable with, however, for some people a high level of caffeine may lead to hyperactivity or anxiety. These effects are usually short lived once the individual returns to his/her regular pattern of consumption.

Researcher Dr. Sophie Killer commented: “We found that consumption of a moderate intake of coffee – four cups per day, in regular coffee drinking males, caused no significant differences across a wide range of hydration indicators compared to the consumption of equal amounts of water. We conclude that advice provided in the public health domain, regarding coffee and dehydration, should be updated to reflect these findings.”

Current scientific evidence indicates that moderate coffee consumption (typically 3-5 cups per day) fits well with a healthy balanced diet and active lifestyle and may possibly be linked to a range of beneficial effects on health.

1. EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies (NDA). (2011) Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to caffeine and increased fat oxidation leading to a reduction in body fat mass (ID 735, 1484), increased energy expenditure leading to a reduction in body weight (ID 1487), increased alertness (ID 736, 1101, 1187, 1485, 1491, 2063, 2013) and increased attention (ID 736, 1485, 1491, 2375) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/20061. EFSA Journal,9(4):2054.
2. Sharwood L.N. et al. (2013) Use of caffeinated substances and risk of crashes in long distance drivers of commercial vehicles: case control study. BMJ, 346:f1140.
3. Smith A.P. (2005) Caffeine at work. Hum Psychopharmacol, 20:441-5.
4. Nehlig A. et al. (2010) SPECT assessment of brain activation induced by caffeine: no effect on areas involved in dependence. Dialogues Clin Neurosci, 12:255-6363.
5. American Psychiatric Association (2013) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM V) ISBN 978-0-89042-554-1DSMV.

Leave a comment Posted on October 17, 2013October 17, 2013 Patient Talk

How to stop the 3 o’clock drop! Fighting fatigue in the afternoon – short guide!

Afternoon Fatigue

We’ve all felt it. An hour or so after lunch the over powering desire to have a deep sleep.

But for many of us at work, looking after children or grandchildren or dealing with health issues a nap is often out of the question. So we thought it might be useful to offer a few suggestions as to how you can avoid the 3 o’clock drop and see off fatigue in the afternoon.

The aim of this blog is to provide a few practical tips which we can all use rather than suggesting, say “three hours in the gym at lunchtime” or “a gallon of espresso coffee”. Both of which are pretty impractical let’s be honest.

So what do scientists recommend?

a) Well this is pretty obvious but don’t drink alcohol at lunchtime. Few do these days, of course, but it does cause fatigue. Also best not to drink on a weekday evening as this can alter sleep patterns leading to fatigue.

b) Use your lunch break properly. Rather than a load of carbs at your desk, if you are working, try and take a proper lunch break at a regular time. Get away from your desk; eat a proper lunch and maybe do some simple exercise like walking round the block a couple of times.

c) If you fancy a snack when the slump appears or you think it might then why not have one. But make sure that it is something healthy like vegetables and hummus rather than a chocolate bar.

d) Tea or coffee. Yes they do work as a short term thing (and so do energy drinks). But they are not to be recommended as the caffeine wears off and you may find yourself back to square one.

e) Can you take a cat nap? Well 15 minutes can help if you do have the opportunity and I’m very jealous.

f) Vitamin D. Make sure you keep up your Vitamin D levels. Check out our previous blog on the subject https://patienttalk.org/?p=300.

If you do have a slump as many of us do, however hard we try to avoid it, then try and carry on and ignore it. Fatigue has many causes and sometimes just working through it can help.

It is worth noting that fatigue can be a sign of a serious medical condition. Indeed it can be the first sign of, say, diabetes. If you are in any way concerned please see a medical practioner.

Finally over to you. Do you have any tips on how to beat tiredness in the afternoon? If so we would love to hear from you. Feel free to use the comments box below to share your suggestions or links with other readers.

Thanks very much in advance.