Coffee is a rich source of antioxidants — compounds found in nature that help to protect cell tissues against oxidation, sun damage and chemical damage. Research studies show that regularly drinking coffee reduces the risk of many chronic illnesses linked with free radical damage, including prostate cancer, oral cancer, oesophageal cancer, endometrial cancer and pharyngeal cancer, type II diabetes, heart disease and dementia. While the antioxidant profile of coffee is becoming more widely known, it is important to note that it is not only the antioxidants which have a medicinal effect on your health — coffee is full of phytochemicals (such as caffeine), oils, protein, B vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which all work together to protect against illness.
In a study published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease in 2011, researchers compared the effects of caffeinated coffee, de-caffeinated coffee and pure caffeine in mice. Of all the different groups, it was the mice who were given caffeinated coffee that experienced a reduction in age-related cognitive decline, dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease. Mice given de-caf coffee or caffeine experienced no such benefit. Scientists concluded that the caffeine in coffee probably has a synergistic action with other compounds in coffee — chlorogenic acid, for example — that leads to a reduction in beta-amyloid deposition in the brain over time.
Scientists have long known that coffee and caffeine not only improves the cognitive functioning of the brain, but also benefits mood levels in both men and women. The effect of coffee on mood is so pronounced, that research has shown coffee drinking to be an important factor in reducing suicide risk. According to an article published in The Harvard University Gazette by William J. Cromie in 1996, two long-term studies looking at over 200,000 American adults found that drinking coffee significantly reduced the rate of suicide — most likely through the positive effect of caffeine stimulation on the nervous system. More recent studies have linked coffee drinking with balancing hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain as well.
