More on Coffee

Yesterday I spoke about coffee. I want to add a couple things today about some positive effects of coffee. Caffeine can be helpful in the person with migraine. Because of it's diuretic effect in the brain, it can help the person with migraines. A word of caution here, moderation is the key. Too much caffeine can actually accentuate the migraine, so limit your caffeine to 1-2 cups per day.

There has been some controversy over the effect of caffeine and the potential for developing Parkinson's disease. The studies demonstrate that males have less risk of developing Parkinson's if they have and are coffee drinkers. Again moderation is key here. More is not necessarily better. Women are a bit a different story, although most of the researh is mixed, the latest studies show that women who are not on hormone replacement therapy who are coffee drinkers have less chance of developing Parkinson's disease. Those who are on hormone replacement therapy actually have a greater chance of developing Parkinson's disease.

One other area that is of concern with caffeine is osteoporosis. There are no definitive studies which state that caffeine has either a negative or positive effect. However, there is some evidence that those who drink their coffee with milk actually are getting some calcium which may assist with decreasing osteoporosis.