Coffee Helps You Become and Stay Fit
You have heard it for years. Personal trainers practice it diligently and so do bodybuilders. It helps your workout making you more effective. What is this miracle substance? Coffee. Plain and simple, coffee has remained a sort of “supplement” of choice among fitness buffs to become fit and maintain fitness.
Coffee is very effective when consumed just before a workout according to research by Dr. Robert Motl of the University of Illinois. It helps to block muscle fatigue symptoms, alowing you to do more and push yourself that extra mile. Its important to remember to also consume enough water during your workout and the rest of your day to counter the fact that coffee is a diuretic.
Go ahead, drink up, workout hard and become fitter with less pain.
Starbucks To Test Alcoholic Drinks
Starbucks is testing out alcoholic beverages, just not at its coffee shops. The company is testing out beer and wine along with live music in some stores in Seattle, that are not under the Starbucks brand. They are also hosting book and poetry readings. They are trying to get back to their roots.
Although the company that owns Starbucks will also own these stores, they will not bear the Starbucks name or logo. Just a neighborhood-inspired name that will appear also on bags of Starbucks coffee sold at the stores, though the bags will reportedly contain the same coffee as traditional Starbucks, according to the Seattle Times.
Coffee May Lower Risk of Developing Alzheimers
New studies show that caffeine may reduce inflammation in the brain, preventing memory loss.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, who appeared on the Early Show discussed the findings from studies recently preformed on mice over a period of two months. “Researchers gave the equivalent of 500 milligrams of caffeine per day to little lab mice, who have been induced to have the same kind of memory changes we see in Alzheimer’s disease, and they found a very positive effect on their memory and thinking actions over a two-month period. So put another one in the column of a good effect of caffeine,” she explained.
So how much would a person have to consume to expect the same results? About 5 medium cups of caffeinated coffee a day. “It looks like a lot, but it’s important to realize that now, when we go to a deli or a Starbucks, this could actually be just the equivalent of 2 1/2 large or Grande cups of coffee a day. While it’s a little bit more than most people have in the morning, it’s actually not such an excessive amount,” Ashton said.
So, how does it work? “Their thinking is that actually the caffeine worked by decreasing the inflammation in the brain, cuts down on the buildup of protein we see in the brain of people with Alzheimer’s disease.”
“People are affected by Alzheimer’s. While it’s important to remember that caffeine is a drug, this is something that’s readily accessible in our environment practically. It’s in people’s day-to-day, and something that can have an effect like this is very important and very encouraging.”
Ashton notes that some caution is advised. Caffeine is a drug, and can be associated with increased blood pressure, increased heart rate, jitteriness, palpitations and dehydration.
“For people who have irregular heart beats, hypertension, women who are pregnant or those who are sensitive to the effects of caffeine, coffee, tea or soda should be consumed in moderation.”
You can read about this study in the July 5th issue of Journal of Alzheimers Disease
Coffee Cures Cellulite
Women have fought to get rid of cellulite for years. Now it seems that there is a way to rid yourself of the unsightly stuff. Coffee!!!. That’s right, plain, caffeinated coffee.
Putting coffee on your skin seems to reduce cellulite, or at the very least, the appearance of it. Cosmetic companies have caught on to this and are now using coffee and/or caffiene in some of their anti-cellulite creams. Look for it on the label. Of course, you can also use coffee grounds to get the same effect, but it is much more messy than the creams, which can be expensive.
If you choose to use coffee grounds, its important to do so at least 3 times a week to acheive and maintain the desired results. To do the treatment with coffee grounds, apply warm coffee grounds all over your body and massage it in. Then you wrap yourself in plastic wrap for twenty minutes.
So how does this work?
The caffeine in coffee is the secret. Caffeine helps widen the blood vessel of the body and stimulates the fat cells, breaking them down. Warning though, if you drink huge amounts of coffee daily, your cellulite could look worse. It seems that caffeine when ingested promotes more cellulite formation. Topical application of caffeine does not have this effect.
The rule of thumb when it comes to cellulite? Slather the coffee on and keep it comming for cellulite free thighs.
Coffee Crawl Seattle Style
Its no surprise that Seattle’s Best Coffee Shop at Pike Market Place is the embarkation point for the Seattle Coffee Crawl. You will have plenty of energy (caffeine) to get your through the 1.6 mile coffee tour through downtown where you will lean about Seattle’s culture and history, which, of course, is rich in coffee! Its like a cupping on the go. You get to sample coffee from downtown coffee shops. Tours are held daily at 10am and last approximately 2 hours. The cost is $20 per person.
Check out www.SeattleByFoot.comto find out more. You can also read another article aobut the Coffee Crawl at http://www.thefalcononline.com/article.php?id=5579
Caffeine Free Coffee Plant
Would you like decaf? How about an uncaffinated coffee plant? A new caffeine free coffee plant from Camaroon, has been named one of 10 top new species for 2008.
To read more about the top new species please visit the link below.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090522122314.htm
Coffee Can’t Hurt, Might Help
There is always ongoing research as to how coffee effects the body. Coffee used to get a bad wrap, but not anymore. Studies show that it couldprotect against diabetes, heart disease and stroke, liver cancer, cirrhosis and Parkinson’s disease. Coffee is also helpful for athletes to help them achieve the optimum in performance.
Why did earlier studies not show this? Perhaps it is because many coffee drinkers also smoke which skewed the previous tests on coffee. It is important to account for all factors when doing medical research so that you can truly evaluate the specific thing that you are testing, in this case, coffee.
For more information and to read the full story, check out the following link.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/health/la-he-coffee18-2009may18,0,2647860.column?track=rss
This article was written by Judy Forman. You can check out her site at www.myhealthsense.com
Caffeine Content In Assorted Beverages (coffee, sodas, chocolate)
Here is a short list of beverages with their caffeine content. I will add to this as time goes but I thought I would start here. Drink up people, there’s plenty of caffeine to be had out in this world. 
Double espresso (2oz) 45-100 mg
Brewed coffee (8 oz) 60-120 mg
Instant coffee (8 oz) 70 mg
Decaf coffee (8 oz) 1-5 mg
Tea - black (8 oz) 45 mg
Tea - green (8 oz) 20 mg
Tea - white (8 oz) 15 mg
Coca Cola (12 oz can) 34 mg
Pepsi (12 oz can) 38 mg
Barq’s Root Beer (12 oz can) 22 mg
Dr. Pepper (12 oz can) 42.6 mg
Mountain Dew (12 oz can) 55.8 mg
Jolt (12 oz can) 72.0 mg
7-up (12 oz) 0 mg
Chocolate milk (8 oz) 4 mg
Dark chocolate (1 oz) 20 mg
Milk chocolate (1 oz) 6 mg
Starbucks Coffee Icecream (8 oz) 50-60 mg
Starbucks Tazo Chai Tea Latte (Grande 16 oz) 100 mg
More Good Reasons To Drink Coffee
I found even more Reasons to Drink Coffee! I thought I’d add them for you. See documentation at the end of entry.
1.Coffee is high in polyphenols — plant chemicals that are known to reduce inflammation. Polyphenols also have other positive effects on the heart, blood vessels and blood sugar
2.They help to relax blood vessels, which can also lower blood pressure. Can you freaking imagine? I would think it makes it go up. Oh wait! Here it is: Excessive caffeine may increase blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia. I knew that.
3.They act as antioxidants and may help to reduce blockages in the arteries. I knew that and I hope that my arteries are clean as a whistle.
4. Thinning the blood by reducing platelet stickiness.
5.Unfiltered coffee can increase your blood cholesterol levels, so use a filter when you brew.
6. Reduces the risk of gallstones
Some Risks that should be duly noted:
1. More than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day can increase the risk of miscarriage.
2. Caffeine increases the loss of calcium in the urine. Keep your intake under 300mil a day or take a good calcium supplement to counteract that caffeine effect.
3. Excessive caffeine may increase blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia
I found this useful information at Star-Telegram.com
-
Ads
