Coffee has many health benefits and many experts recommend its consumption, as long as we do not exceed 4 or 5 cups a day. However, there are people who should control their consumption. We will tell you about it.
The health benefits of coffee are well known. It is a drink that, due to its components, mainly caffeine, helps us to be more awake and have energy throughout the day, but it is also beneficial for cardiovascular health. In fact, moderate coffee consumption of 3 to 5 cups a day is associated with a 15% lower risk of cardiovascular disease, and moderate coffee consumption (2-3 cups a day) was associated with a 21% reduction in the risk of heart disease.
It also has benefits related to physical exercise, especially those of long duration and resistance, since different studies have shown that its use (of caffeine) is recommended as an ergogenic substance in long duration and medium intensity exercises.
As for the number of cups of coffee that can be consumed per day, it will all depend on the person, but the minimum amount would be around 250cc of coffee, that is, a large cup, the maximum amount would be 4 cups of coffee per day, according to experts who told CuídatePlus.
But are there people who can’t drink coffee?
According to Harvard University experts and authors of the Coffee paper , some people may not tolerate higher amounts of caffeine due to symptoms of nervousness, anxiety and insomnia.
For people who suffer from stress or anxiety, drinking too much coffee can be harmful. This is because coffee stimulates us and keeps us awake, “ but if we overdo it, it can cause changes in the pulse, even tachycardia , trembling in the hands and other areas of the body, and even panic attacks or very strong anxiety attacks may appear ,” Sanitas experts report .
For people who have trouble falling asleep, it is also not advisable to drink too much coffee, especially after certain hours in the afternoon. “ It should be noted that coffee takes effect up to five or six hours after having consumed it ”, in these cases, “ it is not usually advisable to drink it after six in the evening”.
According to Harvard , another group of people who should limit their coffee consumption are “ those who have difficulty controlling their blood pressure .” Caffeine can cause a small, temporary increase in blood pressure.
As Enrique Galve , president of the Vascular Risk and Cardiac Rehabilitation section of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (SEC) , reports , “ caffeine increases heart rate and can sometimes raise blood pressure. Even so, there is no reason why a well-controlled hypertensive patient cannot drink coffee ,” although they should moderate their consumption.
Another population group that is advised to limit coffee consumption is pregnant women . Harvard experts “ recommend that they try to consume less than 200 mg of caffeine per day, the amount contained in 2 cups of coffee, because caffeine passes through the placenta to the fetus and has been associated with pregnancy loss and low birth weight.”
On the other hand, because of the potential negative side effects some people experience from drinking caffeinated coffee, “ there is no need to start drinking it if you don’t already or increase the amount you currently drink, as there are many other dietary strategies to improve your health.”
For these population groups, decaffeinated coffee is a good option, as well as for those who are sensitive to caffeine, a drink that also offers health benefits similar to those of caffeinated coffee.
Coffee and weight gain
It is also important to consider how you drink your coffee as it can cause you to gain weight, not because of the coffee itself, but because of the extra calories, such as those from sugar or saturated fat, if you drink it with cream.
Another group of people who should be careful when drinking coffee are those who have stomach problems. “ Coffee has a very powerful laxative effect and can be very aggressive on the stomach , ” say the Nutrition experts at Sanitas. In fact, as they explain , “ it is common for people who consume excessive amounts of coffee to experience heartburn, vomiting, diarrhea, and nausea . ” If this happens, the recommendation is to reduce coffee intake.
In this sense, gastritis is also a health problem that coffee can aggravate. “ Gastritis is not a disease as such, but a group of diseases with something in common, which is inflammation of the stomach lining , ” Sanitas reports.
If we already have an ulcer and we drink coffee on an empty stomach , “ this could cause intense pain” and the fact is that coffee alone and on an empty stomach can be very indigestible in some cases.
Source: Marca.com
Author: Joanna Guillen Valera
Date: Updated: Tuesday, 23 July, 2024 13:01:09 CEST
Original source: Harvard University
https://nutritionsource.hsph.harvard.edu/food-features/coffee/
Note: Nutrigenomics Institute is not responsible for the opinions expressed in this article.
