The Risks and Benefits of Drinking Coffee

These days, more and more people drink coffee for different reasons. The effects of drinking coffee have been long researched.

• Is it only a habit people have in the morning?
• Is if for the taste?
• Is it a way of socializing?
• Or, are people aware of what effects coffee actually has such as a few cups of tea when we are sick or have a cold?
• Do people know when to stop drinking coffee?

What is the recommended daily amount of coffee one should have, just as we know that refilling our tea cups more than three times per day can have no negative effect?

Drinking coffee may present some risks. But, there are also a lot of benefits that come with this drink. For example, when it comes to illnesses, coffee may prevent the development of gallstones, cirrhosis, type two diabetes or Parkinson's disease because of the antioxidant contained in the beans.

Norwegian experts have discovered that serving brewed coffee in a typical way provides more antioxidant that raspberries, blueberries or different kinds of fruit juice. Also, according to specialists at Harvard, coffee may have an effect on cardiovascular problems. The smell of coffee may also have a calming effect, although this aspect has been experimented only on rats. Therefore, the consumption of coffee seems to be good both for the mind and the body.

However, the fact that coffee has a number of benefits for its consumers does not mean that it should be consumed in extraordinary and exaggerated quantities. This is when the risks of drinking coffee usually show up. Coffee does not function in the same way as tea, which can usually be consumed over and over again with little risks. Using your tea cups at work and at home any time you have the chance can only be good for your body, but coffee doesn't work the same way.

According to specialists, one should one consume one or two cups of coffee daily, not taking into consideration the milk or sugar added. Any amount of coffee more than this recommendation may lead to dehydration or to extremely elevated blood pressure because of the amount of caffeine. For pregnant women, too much coffee can have very unpleasant effects, such as the loss of the baby. Also, because of the cafestol levels it contains, unfiltered coffee leads to higher cholesterol. This is a detail consumers should pay attention to.

All in all, drinking coffee can come both with risks and benefits. The line between the two being drawn on the amount of coffee one consumes on a daily basis. Therefore, coffee is good for us when not consumed excessively, but moderately.