Diet

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This is a question that many people want to know. There is a lot of conflicting information out there about coffee and a number of people are connecting the drinking of coffee with a number of health issues.

The coffee bean has been used for a number of years in human existence. In fact the discovery and use of the coffee bean is shrouded in antiquity and all we know now is that it was the Ethiopians who first started using coffee. We have been coffee drinkers for centuries and probably longer too.

Considering that man has been drinking coffee for centuries without any problems it does seem unreal to think that it could be the cause of hitherto unconnected health problems. Let is delve a little deeper to find the truth.

Does drinking coffee have any advantages

The most common, and widely known advantage of drinking coffee is of course that it is a stimulant and that it perks us up. In fact the early morning cup of coffee has become an institution with most of us, and we almost drink it as a habit.

During the day too, having a cup of coffee will help clear our minds and help us concentrate better. In fact most of us drink coffee primarily because of this one reason. There are however a number of other health benefits to drinking coffee too and they are tabled below.

• Low to moderate consumption of coffee has been found to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease later on in life. Drinking 3 – 5 cups of coffee a day has been found to not only reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s but also of dementia in old age.
• Likewise moderate consumption of coffee has been found to be effective at reducing the risk of getting Parkinson’s disease.
• Surprisingly drinking a lot of coffee has been found to help people reduce the risk of getting Type II diabetes. It has been found that people
  who consumed up to 7 cups of coffee have a 50% less chance of getting diabetes than non drinkers.
• Although there is no specific information, in a study in Japan of more than 77,000 people, it was found that coffee drinkers had a lesser risk of dying from cardiovascular problems than those who did not.
• Coffee seems to be able to increase the effectiveness of most headache medicines although how this is is not known. Nowadays a number of pain relievers include caffeine in their make up itself although taking it with coffee still has benefits.
• Coffee improves cognitive performance and helps in short term memory and recall. Although this is not generally known, many people drink a cup of coffee because they feel it helps them concentrate better.
• Coffee even decaffeinated coffee has shown to prevent gall stones from forming in both men and women. How much it helps is still under study, but as of now all information points to an inverse relationship between coffee drinking and gallstones formation.
• Coffee reduces the incidence of cirrhosis of the liver. How exactly this is achieved is still a matter of scientific debate, but there is no doubt that coffee has a beneficial effect on the liver.
• Coffee has been found to reduce the incidence of cancer in the liver and prostate cancer. There does not seem to be any positive effects on other types of cancer though.
• Coffee has for centuries been known as a laxative, and in traditional medicine coffee was used as an enema to relieve constipation.
• Coffee has a number of antioxidants. They are not natively present in the coffee bean as such, but are formed during the roasting process.
• Coffee has been found to help with preventing dental caries and plaque. It has also been found to be helpful in reducing the symptoms of gout in men over 40.

Are there any negatives to drinking coffee

Just as in anything else in this world, coffee too comes with its negatives. Let us find out what exactly they

• Strong coffee can damage the gastrointestinal tract which is why people with ulcers or gastritis are not encouraged to drink coffee.
• Drinking too much coffee has been connected with what is commonly called “Coffee jitters”. Because coffee is a stimulant, having too much of it can cause anxiety and irritability, and because it is habit forming it can also cause withdrawal symptoms.
• Drinking coffee before going to bed can cause sleeplessness.
• There are two chemicals called cafestol and kahweol that are found only in coffee. Initial studies seem to point to these two chemicals increasing the amount of “Bad” cholesterol in the blood. Using a paper filter however removes these chemicals so coffee drinkers are encouraged to use paper filters rather than metal ones.
• Pregnant women are not encouraged to drink coffee and in no case to take more than 3 cups a day. This is because caffeine can cross the placenta and stimulate the growing fetus so much that it can cause the pulse rate and breathing to rocket upwards. The growing child too does not have fully developed organs to excrete this caffeine which means that it takes three times longer to metabolize it. Drinking too much coffee has also been linked to an increased incidence of stillbirths.
• Since coffee retards the absorption of iron by the body, drinking too much coffee may cause anemia. This is true even when iron is taken in supplement form.
• The link between coffee and coronary disease is inconclusive to say the least. Caffeine is known to cause a temporary hardening of the arteries, but in the quantities normally consumed this is not an issue. Most studies have proved inconclusive with regards to the effect caffeine has on the heart, although in one study published by the Harvard Medical school, higher consumption of coffee was also linked to higher consumption of alcohol, smoking and a lack of physical exercise which are all coronary risk factors. The only thing known is that coffee seems to stimulate the centers for inflammation which is why only 4 cups or less a day has been shown to be beneficial to the body.

Is coffee bad for you?

We now come to the crux of the matter. Is coffee bad for you. We have seen both the health benefits of coffee as well as the ill effects of coffee. Taken all together the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages of drinking coffee.

In fact most of the supposedly ill effects are either due to an over consumption of coffee, or can be easily negated by a little bit of exercise and better nutrition. Moderate coffee consumption is beneficial to the body.

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Technically speaking any food that has very low nutritional value is called junk food. Generally only snack food is considered junk, but strictly speaking even colas, fried foods and processed food come under the category of junk food.

What is food addiction

There are a number of people who disagree with the term food addiction. The word addiction refers to doing something because you are incapable of stopping like with drugs and other substances. Many people feel that this is not the right definition, but that people who crave food should be referred to as having eating disorders.

Whatever be the definition the bottom line is the same. Anyone who eats even though they are not hungry, or who indulge in compulsive eating, or to satisfy some craving, or because they feel bad about something are food addicts.

Food addiction is a vicious circle because of the way it works. When we eat junk food, we get a high. Unfortunately this high wears off very quickly and so we tend to eat some more to get back up.

As time goes on, our system will tend to get accustomed to the food and will not respond as well and so we will need ever sweeter food to satisfy us. There’s no getting out of it.

Why do I feel this way

Many people have compared food addiction to other kinds of addictions and feel that the best way to treat it is the same way as you would go about treating other kinds of addiction.

The first thing to remember is that the craving we get is because of the nature of the food we eat. Generally most food that is classified as junk food is high in fat, salt or sugar. This is because all three of these have very similar responses in the body.

Fat, salt and sugar trigger those centers in the brain that are associated with reward. It also triggers the body into releasing Dopamine which is the body’s own natural “Feel good” chemical.

While there is nothing wrong with this, in fact these responses were essential for survival when we were still hunter gatherers, the problem comes in nowadays because we have no shortage of all of them.

Also people tend to eat sweet or fatty stuff when they feel bad because it helps them feel better. This is because the dopamine that is released when we eat sweets will make us feel better. Unfortunately most processed food do not have any fiber in them which means that they are very quickly digested. This will bring down the high very quickly making us eat some more.

Is there an easy way to stop feeling this way

No, there is no easy way out. Most food addicts know the dangers of overeating, but still continue to eat. In certain studies people who have been on a high fat, high sugar diet started showing withdrawal symptoms like headaches and nausea when their diet was changed to a more nutritious one.

It is because of this that many researchers consider certain types of food to be addictive. In fact in studies conducted on rats, when rats were fed a high sugar diet, they starved for 2 weeks rather than eat normal food when their diet was changed. People too exhibit very similar reactions.

The cause effect relationship, the reward function, and the feel good euphoria are all so deeply ingrained in us that it is very difficult to break the cycle unless we consciously want to.

How do I break food addiction 

The first thing is to make sure you realize that you have a problem and accept it. Only with acceptance will come the resolve to do something about it.

1. The first step is to start reducing the amount of sugar in the food slowly. This is because our taste buds will have gotten so used to high sugar that what is normal quantities of sugar for others will be tasteless for us. If you stick it out, your taste buds which had become desensitized, will regain sensitivity. You can then reduce the sugar intake some more.
2. You cannot obviously stop eating, but instead of cutting down entirely on fast food, choose different options. For example if you like ice-cream, stock up on sugar free yoghurt instead. When the craving hits you, there’s nothing else for you to eat and so you’ll eat this.
3. If there is nothing to eat you may be prompted to go out and buy some, which is why it is important to keep healthy alternatives stocked.
4. If you like chocolates, don’t get the usual ones. Go for the dark chocolates that is 80% coco. Not only is coco very good for you, but coco itself will give you a dopamine high without any sugar. And coco is a much more healthy alternative to sugary sweets.
5. If you like eating fried food or processed food, get healthy alternatives and keep it stocked in your refrigerator. Don’t go for salads, it’ll definitely not work, but you can go with fresh or lean meat. As long as you roast it, you can eat any meat without any problem.
6. Identify those foods that you have a weakness for and don’t try to fight it. Just avoid it. If you like ice-cream, don’t walk past an ice cream parlor. You have a better chance of sticking to your resolutions this way.
7. Sleep for 8 hrs a day. This is the time when the body stocks up on depleted enzymes like dopamine. So if you don’t sleep well, your body tends to crave sweets so that it can get the dopamine elsewhere.
8. If you feel bad about anything, close your eyes and take deep breaths. Don’t inflate your belly, rather inflate your chest. If you do this you will be flooding your body with oxygen and improving blood flow which can lower stress dramatically.
9. Lastly don’t feel guilty. This is the worst thing you can do. Mostly people feel bad, eat something sweet which causes insulin to be released into the blood. This high insulin levels in the blood will trigger the release of dopamine which will make you feel good. Unfortunately sugar is digested very quickly and you lose this high and so you eat some more.

The very fact that you accept yourself and don’t feel guilty will not make you feel bad in the first place lessening your craving.