August 29, 2005
Drink more coffee - it's good for you
One more entry for Meskel Square's fast-growing coffee theme. It turns out that coffee is good for you - one in the eye for all those health nuts who see cutting out your daily jolt of caffeine as a cure for all ills.
The American Chemical Society has just published research claiming that coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the US diet. Antioxidants, apparently, are a good thing.
Antioxidants in general have been linked to a number of potential health benefits, including protection against heart disease and cancer. For the current study, Vinson and his associates analyzed the antioxidant content of more than 100 different food items, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and common beverages. The data was compared to an existing U.S. Department of Agriculture database on the contribution of each type of food item to the average estimated U.S. per capita consumption. Coffee came out on top, on the combined basis of both antioxidants per serving size and frequency of consumption.
It does go on to say that coffee can "make you jittery and cause stomach pains, while some studies have tied it to elevated blood pressure and heart rates". But everything has a downside.
Now all we need to prove is that the best antioxidants in the world come from Ethiopia.
Posted by aheavens at August 29, 2005 8:28 AM
Comments
American Chemical Society? Now there's a society which sounds like you can trust it..
See how wonderful cocoa is for you as well: http://cbs2.com/health/health_story_231074827.html
Soft commodities in general getting a good press right now. Glad to see you good for nothing "mine's a large one" journalists concentrating on REAL news for a change.
Posted by: troller at August 29, 2005 3:36 PM
Hi Andy,
I haven't seen the ACS report but that sounds reasonable. You mentioned two important aspects of coffee "jittery and cause stomach pains", while the stomach pain is sort of associated with other factors, it can surely cause nerveousness and unrest, that is when it is consumed at substantially high quantities. However, like almost everything else, when consumed morerately, it can also raise a person's awareness and ability to work & and solve problems. I once read a paper that showed that amount of coffee consumed and a person's ability to solve a mathematical problem generally have parabolic relationship. That is, there is some sort of opitimal quanitity one ought to consume for deserable effect.
Posted by: Henok at August 29, 2005 3:45 PM
Who has funded the research? I think it is a reasonable question.
Hey, don't lower your standard by qouting some cheap and slopy researchs. Have you read a recent NY times report that says a bunch, a-percentage-that-I-forget, of scientists have said they have altered a data to fit a desired (demanded) result to please sponsers?
But I assume that your report is funded by some Ethiopian Coffee company.
Go Andy!
Posted by: tadpol at August 29, 2005 11:39 PM
Andy, what do u think of ana gomez, and her report. According to the PM, her argument doesn't seem to be able to stand groud, not even to the naive. I never questioned her integrity until i got to read the PM's letter volume II. What is very sad is that when there was so much concret evidence that could have shown the irregularities, she used very easily discreditable material. What this tells us is that she didn't do her homework.
Posted by: getu_m at August 31, 2005 12:59 AM
concerning the above post:
i thought i would mention something to talk over coffee.
Posted by: getu_m at August 31, 2005 1:02 AM
get_m
Drink some coffee first,and wake up buddy!
Posted by: tadpol at August 31, 2005 2:00 PM
A nice tale about the Coffee. I do not know if there is a true base for the story, but, like the Italians say "si non e vero, e ben trovato" (free translation: Maybe it is not true, but it's nice):
"History of Coffee
It is said that in the province of Kaffa, a shepherd saw the cherry beans of the coffee being eaten by the goats. He noticed that the goats were getting rowdy so he started to sample it as well. To his amazement, the shepherd became frisky and rowdy himself. The monks of the church saw what it did to the shepherd and they sampled it and became energetic for the midnight prayer. "
The monks were the first to start drinking coffee. They started by eating the cherry beans. After a few years, they began drying and roasting the coffee leaves to brew and drinking it. The leaves are called quti. In the later days Arabian merchants who were traveling through Ethiopia saw the new drink and also began brewing and drinking Ethiopian coffee. A Spanish merchant introduced the unique drink of Ethiopia to India and he called it coffee. "
Full story at:
http://store.abyssinianmarket.com/history.html
Posted by: Daniel Fernandez at August 31, 2005 2:12 PM
Hi Andrew,
I bet coffee would have been the last thing in your mind to talk about if your country were going through like Ethiopia right now. I am disappointed. Could it be that you have been threaten by the ruling party? They have been intimidating the Ethiopian journalists. Can you at least interview one of the Ethiopian journalists who have been intimidated?
If you can, please update us about the starvation in Ethiopia.
I know you love Ethiopia.
Thank you
Posted by: at at August 31, 2005 10:55 PM
Dear AT or who ever you are who posted the last comment :
drink coffee....it's good for you. Do something...go back to your home country and serve or interview those people yourself.
Posted by: tyrel at September 1, 2005 6:30 AM
Politics is not all, live go on...
Is good to balance post.
Posted by: Daniel Fernandez at September 1, 2005 9:56 AM
I love drink coffee very much.i thought i would mention something to talk over coffee.
http://www.goldenteahouse.com/
Posted by: Steven Jack at November 3, 2008 10:22 AM