How Healthy is Coffee Really?

 

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks around the world. There are many different types  of coffee and experts claim that there are more flavors of coffee than there are of wine. Coffee contains caffeine, a stimulant that raises our awareness, keeps us from falling asleep or simply gives us a kick in the morning or after lunch.

Food experts, however, are still undecided on how healthy coffee is. For a long time doctors have told people not to drink too much coffee, because it may lead to heart problems, high blood pressure, insomnia and headaches.

Scientists have now found out that it is the quality of coffee and the way it is brewed that holds the key to our health. Elderly people on the Greek island of Ikaria, live longer than normal. Among other things, this is linked to the consumption of a strong brew of coffee. Experts also point out that different roasts and types of coffee beans have different effects on our health. Milk and sugar change the different levels of caffeine in a cup of coffee.

 


A new study by a Harvard research group says that there is no link between coffee and health problems. Drinking several cups of strong coffee a day is not connected with premature death or other heart diseases. Doctors, however, warn against drinking too much coffee, as it can lead to stomach problems.

Coffee has many advantages, as the new study suggests. While alcohol makes people lethargic and slow-moving, coffee gives them energy. Getting together for a cup of coffee is also a form of socializing and has a positive effect on relationships.

Although a lot still needs to be uncovered about coffee, it seems to reduce the risk of cancer and diabetes. Reports show that people who drink coffee may develop Parkinson’s disease later in life, or maybe not at all. Neurologists think that coffee may have a positive effect on connecting passageways in our brain.

 

 

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Words

  • advantage = good side of something
  • although = while
  • awareness = understanding
  • blood pressure = the force with which blood travels through your body
  • brew = to get the taste of something into hot water
  • cancer = serious disease in which cells in your body start to grow in an uncontrolled way
  • claim = to say that something is true
  • consumption = use, drinking
  • contain = to have in it
  • develop = get
  • diabetes = disease in which there is too much sugar in your blood
  • disease = illness
  • effect = impact, result
  • elderly = older
  • flavor =  the way something tastes
  • however = but
  • insomnia = sleeplessness
  • key = important part
  • kick = here: a start
  • lethargic = slow; feel as if you have no energy
  • link = connect
  • neurologist = a person who  has studied the brain and the nervous system
  • Parkinson’s disease = serious illness in which your muscles start to become very weak  and your arms and legs start shaking
  • passageway = small lines through which commands travel
  • point out = show
  • popular = well-known, liked
  • premature = early
  • raise = makes something go up
  • reduce = lower
  • relationship = how two or more people behave towards each other
  • research = to find out more about a topic by studying it
  • roast = to heat coffee beans so that they get a certain taste
  • scientist = a person who is trained in science and works in a lab
  • socialize = meet people, go out and spend time with them
  • stimulant = a substance that makes you feel full of energy
  • study = document that shows some interesting facts
  • uncover = discover, find out
  • undecided = not sure