Go ahead: The latest research says coffee might help you.

2 days ago, i can't post anything, its because i have to travel far away from my PC doing music event tour with my crew...okay just forget it....

todays i've read a nice articles from Chicago tribute and it's ok to tell you coffee drinker to read this article too and thank to judy foreman from Health Sense that originally post that articles.

Coffea or coffee is a large variety of flowering plants with over 90 species. They are shrubs belonging to the Rubiaceae family native to southern Asia and subtropical Africa. The coffee beverage is derived from the seeds of its fruit or coffee cherries. Coffee plant grows to a comparatively large height and is more precisely described as a tree.The coffee berries, coffee cherries or fruits usually contain two stones or beans. Coffee beans are mostly made up of endosperm that consists of 0.8 to 2.5 per centum of caffeine. Only a small percentage of coffee cherries have a single bean. This bean is called a peaberry.

Coffee beans are not literally beans. The name originates from the Arabic words gahwa and bunn; gahwa means coffee and bunn means berry. They are the seeds of the coffee plant, and almost all coffee traders call these seeds beans.

Coffee develops under the shade in its natural habitat. Coffee plants grown under the shade, do not deplete the soil's resources and lives two times longer than sun grown varieties. The quality of shade grown coffee is said to be higher than sun grown coffee. The cherries produced by the coffee tree under the shade are relatively smaller than those of commercial varieties.

Many believe that this smaller cherry contracts the flavors into the bean itself. Majority of coffee is grown on plantations with full-sun. Some coffee plantations were prepared with the use of deforestation.

The two main variety of coffee being grown today are Robusta and Arabica. Robusta comprises about 20 percent of the world's production. It is a lower grade coffee with higher caffeine content. Robusta trees are normally grown at lower elevations and easier to maintain and cultivate. This type is typically grown to attain a lower priced coffee in the market.

Arabica coffee supplies 75 to 80 percent of the world's coffee trade. It is usually referred as gourmet coffee by most people because of its superior grade, aromatic properties and desirable taste. Arabica species of coffee are grown all over the world but only a few growers passed the Specialty Coffee Association of America's standard.

Other kinds of coffee plant being grown include Coffea benghalensis, Coffea congensis, Coffea excelsa, Coffea bonnieri, Coffea gallienii, Coffea mogeneti, Coffea liberica, and Coffea stenophylla. Each species has different characteristics.

Green beans are essentially coffee beans not roasted yet. Its volatile and non-volatile compounds are said to appeal to insects and distract animals from eating the coffee fruits. These compounds also contribute to the flavor of roasted beans. Nitrogenous compounds jointly with carbohydrates are significant for the full aroma or fragrance of roasted coffee beans. The non-volatile nitrogenous compounds include trigonelline, alkaloids, protein and free amino acids.

Gourmet Coffee Beans have volcanica, costa rice, Jamaica blue mountain, and kona. Volcanica are grown at 3,000 to 7,000 feet on mountain slopes created by volcanoes and nurtured on volcanic soil. The moisture coming from the clouds and the cool climate combined gives the coffee a smooth and robust flavor.

Costa rica is among the world's largest gourmet coffees with clean, light flavor and fantastic aroma. The magnificent growing condition of this tiny Central American nation is due to the fertile volcanic soil and mild climate.

Jamaica blue mountain is considered as the Rolls-Royce of coffee. It is one of the most appreciated gourmet coffees in the world. This coffee has a strong and intense aroma, balanced acidity, and prominent fruit flavors.

Kona coffee has a rich delicious full-bodied flavor grown from the slopes of Mauna Loa Volcano in Hawaii. Plantation needs a sunny weather, rich soil and ample rainfall. This coffee has a luscious, smooth, intense fragrance and nutty flavor that made it very famous throughout the US.

Thursday, February 5th 2009

Java junkies looking for bargains on great tasting joe might want to put that Starbucks Venti Caffe Americano on the back burner for now. The best coffee to wake up to these days, Eight O'Clock Coffee 100% Colombian, is also a great bargain, according to the March issue of Consumer Reports.The magazine's independent testing firm tested 19 ground coffees and reported that pricey Starbucks Coffee Colombia medium ($11.53 per pound) didn't even place among the top regular coffees, and it trailed among the decafs. Eight O'Clock Coffee 100% Colombian (at a wallet-friendly $6.28 a pound), was judged the hottest ground coffee of all, winning CR's "Best Combination of Taste and Price." Testers raved that the coffee possesses "a complex blend of earthy and fruity, with a bright, pleasing sourness."

FOUR cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk of a stroke by a fifth, say scientists.

A study involving 83,000 women over a 24-year period showed coffee lovers were less likely to suffer a brain clot.

Researchers found women who drank five to seven cups a week saw their risk lowered by 12 per cent.

In those consuming two to three cups a day, the reduction was 19 per cent and for those on four daily it was 20 per cent. Although the study involved women, it's thought men would also benefit.

But researchers stressed coffee only protected against illness in those who were already relatively healthy.

Strokes kill about 200 people every day in the UK.

Dr Esther Lopez-Garcia led the study at Madrid University which discovered coffee's health benefits.

She said: "Antioxidants in coffee can lower inflammation and improve blood vessel function."

so guys be wise when you consume coffee or any kind of food and drinking stuff ok!!

KeeP U'r Body and Soul Healthty

Two or more cups a day boosts protection for nonsmokers, study finds
Drinking coffee appears to lower the risk for stroke among women, with more consumption translating into more protection, Spanish and American researchers suggest.

The finding stems from the tracking of both coffee habits and stroke occurrence among tens of thousands of American women across nearly a quarter century. And it adds to earlier indications that coffee might also offer some protection against diabetes, while not raising the risk for heart trouble.

However, the current evidence also includes a cautionary note for smokers: Their habit seems to wipe out whatever protection long-term coffee drinking might otherwise confer.

"Many people have been very concerned that coffee might actually be a risk factor for stroke, that it might, in fact, increase the risk of stroke," said the study's co-author, Rob M. van Dam, an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston. "But here we saw that it might end up being beneficial rather than detrimental."

The findings were released Monday for the March 3 issue of Circulation.

To explore possible links between coffee drinking and stroke risk among women, the authors analyzed data on more than 83,000 women, who averaged about 55 years old and had participated in the Nurses' Health Study between 1980 and 2004. At the start of the study, none of the women had a history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer.

Based on the women's answers on seven food-habit surveys administered during the study, the researchers found that 84 percent of the women consumed at least some caffeinated coffee. As well, half said they drank decaffeinated coffee, 78 percent drank tea and 54 percent drank caffeinated sodas.

During the study's 24-year span, nearly 2,300 strokes occurred. More than half were ischemic strokes, which follow blood vessel blockage.

Coffee drinking was not linked to either the lowering or the raising of stroke risk among women who developed high blood pressure, diabetes or high cholesterol.

But after considering factors such as cigarette and alcohol consumption, van Dam and his colleagues found that healthy women who consumed two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day had, on average, a 19 percent lower risk for any kind of stroke than did women who drank less than one cup a month. Drinking four or more cups a day lowered risk by 20 percent.

Women who drank five to seven cups of coffee a week were 12 percent less likely to have a stroke than were those who downed just one cup a month, the study found.

The team then zeroed in on the impact tobacco might have on the coffee-stroke link, noting that coffee drinkers are often also smokers.

What they found was striking: Among women who never smoked or had smoked but quit, drinking four or more cups of coffee a day conferred a 43 percent reduced risk for all types of stroke. However, among women with similar coffee habits who also smoked, stroke risk fell by just 3 percent.

It remains unclear what specific aspect of coffee plays the principal role in stroke risk reduction. However, the researchers noted that caffeinated tea and soft drinks carried no similar benefit -- implying that some other component in coffee, apart from caffeine, might provide the protective effect.

Whatever the case, the study authors pointed out that certain conditions -- such as insomnia, anxiety, high blood pressure and cardiac complications -- can be negatively affected by coffee drinking.

They further cautioned that the current findings need confirmation with continued research.

"This is quite an early finding," van Dam said. "And previous studies have been quite small. But the data we do have is very convincing in the sense that we feel comfortable that we definitely found no association between high coffee consumption and a higher stroke risk. So women can continue to enjoy their coffee and focus on other things to reduce stroke risk, such as engaging in more physical activity, reducing salt intake and stopping smoking."

Dr. Anthony Comerota, director of the Jobst Vascular Center at Toledo Hospital in Ohio, described the degree of benefit as "somewhat surprising."

"But what is not surprising," he said, "is the deleterious impact of cigarette smoking, which we know is the most potent risk factor -- perhaps other than diabetes -- for heart attack and stroke and general cardiovascular-related risk among both men and women."

Comerota suggested that future research should explore physical activity patterns among coffee drinkers and nondrinkers. "There may be behavior patterns which link increased physical activity with coffee drinking," he said, "and we know the more physical activity one has, the better cardiovascular risk reduction that person enjoys."

Another large study appearing in the same issue of Circulation offered insight into the impact of diet on stroke risk. It noted that American women who closely follow a traditional Mediterranean diet (high in monounsaturated fats, plant-based proteins, whole grains and fish) have a much lower risk for both heart disease and stroke.

As with van Dam's research, this study -- led by Teresa T. Fung of Simmons College and the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston -- was also based on analysis of participants in the Nurses' Health Study, nearly 75,000 of whom were tracked for two decades to see how their dietary habits stacked up against their incidence of both stroke and heart attack.

More information

For more on diet and heart health, visit American Heart Association.

Some are trying hard to show the beneficial effects that coffee has on our health, others see it as the devil's beverage. Others say it's rather a bogus. Read on and decide for yourself who's right!

1. Some say that the energy boosting effect of the morning coffee is only in your mind and you should sleep more. The caffeine eases withdrawal symptoms accumulating overnight, but does not make people more alert. Only people who do not regularly drink coffee will get a ‘push-up’ from caffeine, while the British Coffee Association insists that regular drinkers do feel more alert. Regular coffee drinkers swear that their morning caffeine wakes them up, and in case they don’t take it, they feel they have no energy and will surely be less efficient in their activities. Researches show that a first caffeine intake does not make the individuals more alert than those who do not drink coffee are. Others insist that moderate coffee consumption of four to five cups per day is perfectly safe for the general population and has a beneficial effect on alertness and performance even in the case of regular coffee drinkers. Caffeine, the main active chemical of coffee, blocks adenosine, a chemical that makes you naturally drowsy, increasing concentration and reaction speed. But the long term effects can be really tricky. Once the temporary stimulation stops, the brain cells start needing caffeine for stimulation and a sudden neural sluggishness installs.
2. Caffeine has been found to prevent cognitive decline in the elderly women. Women aged 65 and older who consumed over three cups of coffee (or the same caffeine levels in tea) daily scored better over time on memory tests than women who drank one cup or less of coffee/tea daily did. The memory benefits of the caffeine rise with age - coffee drinkers being 30 % less exposed to memory impairment at age 65 and 70 % less over 80. Still, caffeine consumers did not have lower rates of dementia. Caffeine seems to slow the dementia process rather than prevent it. Why caffeine has a slightly different effect on women than it does in men is a puzzle. Caffeine has been found also to protect against Parkinson’s disease and depression, and this could be linked to its inhibiting effect on adenosine receptors. Depression is eased because caffeine increases dopamine, the “happy feeling” hormone, in your brain.
3. Italian researchers found that coffee defends against blepharospasm, an involuntary eye spasm which makes patients blink uncontrollably, which may turn into a severe vision impairment, and in severe cases, this can make the patients functionally blind (despite intact eyeballs) as they cannot impede closing their eyes. One to two cups daily have this effect. The blepharospasm onset age was delayed by coffee drinking, with 1.7 years for each extra daily cup, and this could be due to caffeine’s effect on the adenosine receptors.
4. Everybody knows the laxative effect of coffee. Brewed coffee also contains soluble cellulose fibers, which help the body absorb vital nutrients, keep a lid on cholesterol and fight constipation. The amounts are of 0.47-0.75 grams of fiber per 100 ml. Freeze-dried coffee came out on top. Men comsume on average about 38 g of fiber a day and women around 25 g. A 240 ml cup of coffee could contain as much as 1.5 g of fiber (3.2 cups means 5 g of fiber).
5. High coffee consumption (more than three cups per day for years) increases loss of bone mineral density. Caffeine is a mild diuretic, speeding up the urination cycle, but “steals” calcium which is lost through urine. Long term, heavy caffeine use leads to a rapid development of osteoporosis.
6. The effect of coffee on the cardiovascular health is controversial: some say it’s good, others that it is a risk factor. Caffeine blocking adenosine constricts the brain’s blood vessels. The heart beats rate increases, muscles tighten, the blood pressure booms, blood vessels near the surface constrict and more blood flows to the muscles. Researches show that blood pressure and heart rate spurred in healthy sedentary adults drinking two cans of caffeine containing drinks daily by up to 11 %. But if you’re going to practice sports, the heart beats can increase up to a dangerously high level, while triggering extremities shivering and nausea. On the long term, the unnatural heart racing is unhealthy, and can trigger heart conditions.
7. Caffeine causes sleep disturbances. Don’t even think about drinking coffee or other caffeine containing beverages before sleep. And remember that the alkaloid needs 12 hours to be completely eliminated from your body.
8. A new research has found that coffee could cut the risk of skin cancer. 6 cups of caffeinated coffee daily lowered the likelihood of developing skin cancer by 35 %, while 2-3 cups lowered it by 12 %. Caffeine is believed to impede cells dividing in the tumor, or to work as an antioxidant. One research found coffee and exercising fight against sun-induced skin cancer by 400 %. Other researches suggest that coffee could be beneficial also against breast cancer.
9. Coffee fights gout symptoms! The beverage lowers uric acid levels on short term, easing the most common and excruciatingly painful inflammatory arthritis in adult males. Drinking 4-5 cups of coffee daily significantly decreases the risk of gout by 40 % and over 6 cups per day by 59 %. Tea (which contains caffeine) has no impact on gout incidence, thus other chemical than caffeine induces this effect; the main suspected being the phenol chlorogenic acid, a powerful antioxidant.
10. Two cups of coffee reduce significantly post-gym muscle pain. Caffeine consumed one-hour before going to the gym induces a 48 % decrease in pain; those who drink caffeine before the near-maximum force test have 26 % drop in soreness. Caffeine boosts endurance, and one study discovered caffeine to decrease pain during moderate-intensity cycling. By blocking the receptors for adenosine, released in response to inflammation and implied in pain sensation, coffee could have this effect. Caffeine seems to be more efficient than conventional pain and soreness reliever drugs, like naproxen (the active ingredient in Aleve), aspirin and ibuprofen.
11. Caffeine mixed with acetaminophen (paracetamol),one of the most common painkillers used in the US and Europe could harm your liver. The caffeine was discovered to triple the quantity of a toxic byproduct, N-acetyl-p-benzoquinone imine (NAPQI), produced by the enzyme that breaks down the acetaminophen. Still, the effects would be determined by the daily consume of 20-30 cups of coffee.
12. Caffeine gets women in the mood for sex, especially in moderate amounts and when the women are not heavy drinkers. The chemical is also known to increase excitability in men. Interestingly, female rats that received the middle dose of caffeine had quicker return visits to the males than the highest dose tested.
13. Researches show that the consume of unfiltered coffee increases the level of cholesterol. Why? Because coffee contains a substance called cafestol which triggers the rise of cholesterol levels. The cafestol blocks a receptor in an intestinal pathway crucial for cholesterol regulation, and is the most potent food chemical to do this. By pouring hot water over the ground coffee, the cafestol is extracted. The same thing happens when the ground coffee is boiled in water by several times, like in the case of Turkish coffee or Scandinavian brew, or a paper filter is employed, like in French coffee. If the coffee is made without the filter, the cafestol remains in the prepared beverage. A cup of unfiltered coffee contains up to 4 milligrams of cafestol that can raise the cholesterol level by 1 %. The espresso coffee contains cafestol, as it is not prepared with a filter. Still, this type of coffee can increase less the cholesterol if you use a small cup. Less espresso means less cafestol, probably just 1-2 mg per cup. Still, 5 cups of espresso can raise the cholesterol by 2 %. Decaffeinated coffee contains cafestol, since removing caffeine does not influence the other compound.
14. Coffee was found to remove 78-90 % of the heavy metals dissolved in the tap water, like lead or copper, because the ground coffee has the molecules not electrically charged or negatively charged, attracting the heavy metals, which are positively charged. Stronger coffee removes a higher amount of the toxic heavy metals. Instead, tea removes just one third of the same amount of lead and has not effect on the copper.
15. Coffee can kill you! Just as any other drug, in small amounts, caffeine (and coffee) is a stimulant. But the coffee plant synthesizes the alkaloid with the purpose of killing.its natural consumers. The grazer eating too much coffee will die. We, too, may be killed. The uncontrolled heart beats are the prelude of a heart attack. Over 400 mg of caffeine (found in 4-5 cups of brewed coffee) can cause caffeine intoxication. Some even snort caffeine powder, which results in a more rapid and intense reaction. The symptoms are just like those induced by any other drug: restlessness, nervousness, excitement, insomnia, face flushing, increased urination, gastrointestinal disturbance, muscle twitching, a rambling flow of thought and speech, irritability, irregular heart beat, and psychomotor agitation. Deadly coffee doses have not been tested on people, but in rats the average lethal dose (LD50) of caffeine is 192 mg/kg: 50 % of the rats died after consuming this quantity. In humans, however, the value would be linked to weight and each one’s sensitivity, to about 150 to 200 mg/kg of body mass.

So, you have to drink 80 to 100 cups of coffee very quickly to die… This also varies with the coffee variety, and cup size, as this determines how much caffeine enters your body. Actually, cases of death caused by coffee drinking have not been reported yet (at least from rapid drinking; the chronic effects are another story) but caffeine pills (just 2 g) are much more effective and have been proven lethal.

The coffee drinking culture is expanding. No longer are our choices coffee or decaf coffee, but we have espresso, lattes, hot chocolate, and other types of drinks invading the local coffee shops. With choices now available, different kinds of people are gravitating toward drinks that match their personality. You can tell a lot about a person by the type of beverage they order at your local coffee shop. Below is how to decipher each drink to match a personality.

Step1

Straight up Coffee: You don't have time for fancy coffee making techniques. Your lifestyle is fast paced, reflected through your need for a caffeinated beverage that is strong and easy in the morning. Steamed milk? Waste of time. Grande Non Fat Hazlenut Latte? Waste of words. Coffee? Perfect. Besides, you never ask a girl out for "A flavored, steam milk, complicatedly named beverage," you ask her out for coffee, because you are a strong, confident man. (Flip man and girl for those of you of the opposite sex, because I care about my female audience.

Although most people consume some caffeine on a daily basis, many don't stop to consider the potential for caffeine intoxication.Here's what you need to know :

1. While you're probably familiar with the signs and symptoms of alcohol intoxication, alcohol isn't the only drink that can cause an adverse reaction when consumed in significant quantity. Drinking too many cups of coffee or tea over a short period of time can result in symptoms of caffeine intoxication, a syndrome that's not only unpleasant, but can potentially lead to death.
2. The amount of caffeine required to give symptoms of caffeine intoxication is surprisingly low. As little as three cups of coffee drank in a short period of time can give rise to thenervousness, flushing, and anxiety, characteristic of caffeine intoxication. While these symptoms are uncomfortable, they're generally not life threatening unless there are underlying medical problems such as poorly controlled hypertension or heart disease. If heart disease is present, lower doses of caffeine can result in abnormal heart rhythms.

Now I have alot time to inform you about this information that make everyone of us aware to ourself health, especially for us coffee lovers. There is increasing evidence that drinking coffee may substantially reduce the risk of developing the most common form of diabetes, Type 2 diabetes, which is the major contributor to the epidemic rise, worldwide, of this disease. The growing body of published research suggests that alongside other lifestyle measures, such as weight control and exercise, regular coffee drinking may also have a protective effect against developing Type 2 diabetes.

A coffee table is a style of long, low table which is designed to be placed in front of a sofa, to support beverages, magazines, books like coffee table books. Coffee tables are usually found in the living room or sitting room. They are available in many different variations and prices vary from style to style.

Nowadays, coffee table is ongoing progress to be very popular a living is not complete if a coffee table is not inserted in their living room. It adds a special touch to the atmosphere and the coziness to the room.