The effect of coffee on your health
Do you like start your day with a cup of coffee? If your answer is "yes", after you drink it, how do you feel? You fee awake and energetic, right? But do you know there are some adverse effects of coffee on your health? If you are coffee addicted or drink coffee for an extended period of time, you will experience some effects of coffee on you health, which will be discussed in the follow sections of this article.
Effect of coffee on body weight
Coffee can trigger food cravings, stimulate appetite, increase stress level, and increase insulin resistance. All of these effects working together will lead to a series of metabolic processes that eventually builds up body weight. Caffeine, the functional component in coffee elevates the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol increases heart rate, blood pressure, and sensitivity to emergency alert. This, in turn, alerts the body to increase its energy stores which results in food cravings specifically for sweets. Caffeine stimulates appetite due to its ability to induce low blood sugar with symptoms including dizziness and light-headedness. Body's reaction to low blood sugar is increased appetite. Elevated cortisol levels over an extended period of time increases the deposit of fat in the deep belly area. Abdominal fat is associated with increased health risks like cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Drinking coffee makes our bodies become resistant to insulin. As a result, glucose and insulin build up in the blood, endangering our health and increasing our risk of developing Type II Diabetes. Drinking coffee can also cause insomnia and sleep deprivation, both of which have been found to increase insulin resistance.
Effects of coffee on cardiovascular system
Drinking coffee can significantly increase central blood pressure as well as systolic and diastolic blood pressure, is a predictor for the incidence of heart palpitations. Due to its effects on raising cortisol, it increases heart rate. It is also implicated in the potential to produce cardiac arrhythmias.
Coffee drinking is linked to higher levels of serum cholesterol, with particularly high levels noted in people who drink boiled coffee or coffee processed at high temperatures (which includes espresso and espresso drinks). Other forms of coffee have also been shown to increase serum cholesterol levels including decaffeinated coffee, and studies show that replacement of regular coffee with decaffeinated coffee does not affect lipid levels. Increases in LDL levels as high as 8-10 percent after drinking decaffeinated coffee for three months have been observed.
Increased plasma homocysteine increases a person's risk of suffering from a heart attack. Coffee drinking significantly increases homocysteine in the bloodstream, even more so than caffeine alone. Coffee drinkers exhibit increased presence of inflammatory markers, including significantly higher interleukin 6, C-reactive protein, serum amyloid-A, higher tumor necrosis factor alpha and higher white blood cell counts. This effect is observed at levels of 200 ml or 6 oz of coffee per day. It is suggested that this inflammatory response Caffeine has been demonstrated to negatively affect stiffness in the aorta as well as aortic pressure, in healthy adults as well as in adults with hypertension. Increased arterial stiffness is a contributing factor in coronary artery disease and is involved in the process of arteriosclerosis or hardening of the arteries.
Effects of coffee on digestive system
Coffee Increases Incidence of gastro-esophageal reflux disease because coffee decreases pressure in the lower esophagus, which can lead to reflux. Both decaffeinated and regular coffees are highly acidic and can increase the secretion of stomach acids which is the main reason for heartburn. Studies have shown that a decrease in stomach acid can help alleviate heartburn. Therefore, quitting the coffee habit may be just the right move to help limit your episodes of heartburn. Coffee stimulates acid in the stomach and is associated with a higher risk of stomach ulcers
Coffee has been shown to have a laxative effect in people suffering from colon and bowel conditions which can lead to loose stools as soon as four minutes after drinking it. Coffee can also decrease absorption of magnesium, which will contribute to abnormal bowel regularity.
In summary, drinking coffee is not a healthy way to keep you alert or energetic because it can cause many adverse effects on your health. If you are still drinking, my recommendation is to quit it as soon as you can so that you can enjoy your life more.
