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I used to love coffee, but I gave it up because I thought it would be better for me to not drink it. I still drink caffeine in the form of black and white tea. However, after viewing the slides I kind of want to drink coffee again. The benefits that are attributed to coffee include:
- lower risk of coronary disease--potentially because of antioxidants that reduce oxidation in LDL cholesterol; coffee drinking is also associated with lower inflammatory markers in the blood
- lower risk of stroke (a meta-analysis showed this)
- improved glucose metabolism and lower risk of type 2 diabetes
- increased ability to lose weight
- reduction in some types of cancer--potentially due to antioxidants and anti-mutagenic properties
- potentially neuroprotective (less dementia progression in coffee drinkers)
- lower risk for depression
- protection for the liver
- reduced risk for MRSA (also true for tea drinkers)
- helpful in dry eye syndrome
- reduced risk for gout
Coffee's not perfect as the slide show creators end with the associate risks:
- increased blood pressure
- causing or worsening anxiety, insomnia, and tremor
- potentially elevated risk for glaucoma
The slide show also notes that one risk is caffeine withdrawal syndrome; it is being considered as an entry in the DSM-5 because of the debilitating symptoms. (Just don't quit?) I'm not ever planning on quitting working out, so maybe it should be the same for caffeine.
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