Caffeine

I've been talking about coffee and caffeine. There are a couple of things that you should also be aware of in regard to caffeine. While coffee is a source of caffeine, there are other ways that we get caffeine. Regular tea, both green and black, actually contains more caffeine than coffee. Colas also contain caffeine. One of the worse soft drinks is Mountain Dew in terms of the amount of caffeine.

So when I said 1-2 cups of coffee, that means if you're drinking coffee, cut the colas and tea. If you don't like coffee and are drinking tea, the same rules apply. Be sure to drink a glass of purified water for each cup or glass of tea. My suggestion is that if you are drinking cola or Mountain Dew, switch to something else. There are other detrimental effects from drinking sodas.

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.

Coffee

As many of you know, the main effect of coffee comes from the caffeine. Caffeine has several effects on the body. One most of us know is that it is a stimulant and therefore stimulates the central nervous system. What that means is that it can make you more alert. Many have used coffee to "jump start" are day - make us more alert. This is not a bad thing, but remember it contains no nutrition to feed the brain and keep alert and functioning at a high level.

There are some other things that caffeine does. It can increase the heart rate, increase the blood pressure, increase our basal metabolic rate and increase the function of the lungs. None of these is particularly detrimental unless, you heart disease or high blood pressure. But even with these conditions, coffee is not unsafe is taken in moderation. This means 1-2 cups (8 oz cups) per day. It is best to spread it out, so have a cup with breakfast and then one some other time during the day.

There is also a diuretic effect to caffeine, so be sure to drink a class of purified water for every cup of coffee that you drink. This will help conteract the diuretic effect.