Coffee Health Benefits : Coffee may protect against disease

It’s surprising when something that was once considered questionable for your health turns out to have health benefits, usually with the proviso to use it “in moderation.” That happened with chocolate and alcohol, and now it is coffee’s turn, reports the February issue of the Harvard Health Letter. Here’s some of the mostly good news about coffee:

Blood pressure. Results from long-term studies are showing that coffee may not increase the risk for high blood pressure over time, as previously thought. Study findings for other cardiovascular effects are a mixed bag.

Cancer. Coffee might have anti-cancer properties. Last year, researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50% less likely to get liver cancer than nondrinkers. A few studies have found ties to lower rates of colon, breast, and rectal cancers.

Cholesterol. Two substances in coffee — kahweol and cafestol — raise cholesterol levels. Paper filters capture these substances, but that doesn’t help the many people who now drink non-filtered coffee drinks, such as lattes. Researchers have also found a link between cholesterol increases and decaffeinated coffee, possibly because of the type of bean used to make certain decaffeinated coffees.

Diabetes. Heavy coffee drinkers may be half as likely to get diabetes as light drinkers or nondrinkers. Coffee may contain chemicals that lower blood sugar. A coffee habit may also increase your resting metabolism rate, which could help keep diabetes at bay.

Parkinson’s disease. Coffee seems to protect men, but not women, against Parkinson’s disease. One possible explanation for the sex difference may be that estrogen and caffeine need the same enzymes to be metabolized, and estrogen captures those enzymes.

Also in this issue of the Harvard Health Letter

• By the way, doctor: Will quitting aspirin help get rid of these splotches on my arms?
• By the way, doctor: Could this skin condition be caused by stress?
• In brief: Sudden sweat may signal a heart attack
• Watch your K rations
• H. pylori: Does it have a silver lining?
• Should you worry about high triglycerides?
• Stopping hiccups
• Re-javanation: That cuppa joe might have some health benefits
• In brief: Could melatonin calm irritable bowels?

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About Harvard Health Publications

Harvard Health Publications publishes five monthly newsletters--Harvard Health Letter, Harvard Women's Health Watch, Harvard Men's Health Watch, Harvard Mental Health Letter, and Harvard Heart Letter--as well as more than 50 special health reports and books drawing on the expertise of the 8,000 faculty physicians at Harvard Medical School and its world-famous affiliated hospitals.

Is Celiac disease the result of antibiotic use?

From www.celiac.com

RECENT STUDY: DO ANTIBIOTICS CONTRIBUTE TO CROHN'S DISEASE?
Monday, September 8, 2008
Swedish flat Earlier this year, a team of researchers in Sweden attempted to answer the question of whether antibiotic use in children aged 0 to 5 increased the odds of having Crohn's disease later in life.

In recent weeks, the Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology published their study titled Early-life exposures associated with antibiotic use and risk of subsequent Crohn's disease.
The researchers' thought process went as follows:

* Disrupted gut flora contributes to Crohn's disease
* Antibiotics disrupt gut flora
* Do people who have antibiotics at an early age, and thus disrupted gut flora, have an increased chance of having Crohn's disease?

The study's conclusion: Yes, having antibiotics between ages 0 to 5 years is associated with a significantly increased chance of having Crohn's disease later in life.

To arrive at their conclusion, the researchers examined the medical records of 1,098 Crohn's suffers born between 1975 and 1997 who received a diagnosis before age 25.

For each of the 1,098 records of people with Crohn's, the researchers also examined the records of at least 5 "controls"--individuals with the same birth unit, year of birth, and sex. These 6,550 controls did not have Crohn's. In regards to antibiotics, children were only considered to have been given antibiotics if they were administered during a hospital stay--usually for pneumonia.

Of the Crohn's patients, 590 received a diagnosis prior to age 16 (matched with 3,527 controls) and 508 patients were diagnosed between ages 16 and 24 (matched with 3,023 controls).

As the authors write:
Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that antibiotic treatment during the first five years of life (but not in later years) increases the risk of Crohn's disease through the disruption of bowel colonization.

They also note another potential explanation--that early pneumonia is a marker of underlying immune dysregulation or a more direct causal role in causing Crohn's.

Although not conclusive, the idea of antibiotics contributing to Crohn's is logical given our current knowledge. If antibiotics are known to cause colitis (not ulcerative colitis), why wouldn't they contribute to more severe forms of bowel disease?

Health Benefits of Black Currants

Black currants are very rich in many phytonutrients, antioxidants, vitamins, essential fatty acids and minerals

In particular, black currants are renowned for their high content in Vitamin C (a powerful antioxidant), GLA (Gamma-Linoleic Acid, a very rare Omega-6 essential fatty acid) and potassium. They have been shown to have twice the potassium of bananas, four times the vitamin C of oranges, and twice the antioxidants of blueberries.

Black currants contain anthocyanins, which are compounds naturally found in berries. They are very potent antioxidants and are responsible for the color of blackcurrants. Around 300 different types of anthocyanins have been discovered.

Anthocyanins inhibit the enzymes Cyclo-oxygenase 1 and 2, and reduce inflammation and the effects of arthritis in the body. The effect is similar to aspirin or ibuprofen, so many middle-aged and old people are choosing the healthier blackcurrant juice over these drugs.

Anthocyanins have been found to be heat and light sensitive, so the processing of blackcurrants is controlled very carefully to ensure they keep their nutritional properties

The fruit juice of black currant contains proanthocyanidins, anthocyanins and a polysaccharide-rich substance, cassis polysaccharide (CAPS), and has macrophage-stimulating activity. Its interleukin (IL)-1beta-inducing activity is very high, compared with other fruit juices. CAPS was found to consist of mannose, galactose, xylose, rhamnose, xylose, arabinose, and glucose. This substance has been proven to be very toxic against tumor cells, so studies are being performed to determine the anti-cancer properties of black currants

In addition, black currant seed oil contains 47% linoleic (18:2n6),14% alpha-linolenic (18:3n3), 12% gamma-linolenic (18:3n6), and 2.7% stearidonic (18:4n3) acids. Of these, gamma-linoleic is rarely found in any other natural resource, and both alpha and gamma-linoleic are essential fatty acids, which means our body cannot produce them on its own.

Overall, black currants have been proven to have health benefits including:

* Anti-Inflammatory Action
* Powerful Anti-oxidant Action
* Maybe help prevent cancer
* Reduces the effects of arthritis