The world of food is full of conflicting advice. Drinking coffee is good for you; it will give you cancer. Eggs are part of nature s natural bounty; they raise your cholesterol. So many claims, so little agreement.Yet despite the headlines there is a fairly consistent body of research that points at the health benefits, or otherwise, of most popular foods. We re here to sort the facts from the fads. Enjoy!
COFFEE
There have been numerous claims over the years that drinking coffee will increase your risk of succumbing to a whole range of terrible things. Yet when scientists followed over 120,000 men and women for more than 20 years they found something altogether more surprising. The study, The Relationship Of Coffee Consumption With Mortality, concluded that “regular coffee consumption was not associated with an increased mortality rate in either men or women”. In fact, they found moderate coffee consumption appears to be mildly protective. Based on this and other studies, the most effective ‘dose’ seems to be two to five cups a day. More than that and any benefits drop off. But we simply don’t know what it is in coffee that helps.
The amount of coffee you can safely drink without side effects, such as a temporary rise in blood pressure or insomnia, may be down to your genes, and in particular how much of the liver enzyme CYP1A2 you have. CYP1A2 helps determine the speed at which caffeine is cleared from your body. This could explain why I can drink coffee in the evening with no problems, while one cup in the afternoon has my wife twitching.
VERDICT: Two to five cups of coffee a day are fine, but side effects may be dictated by your genes.
DIET DRINKS
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