Coffee for body and soul

Are coffee, alcohol and other stimulants or depressants good or bad for you? I often wonder why people love eating food or drinking beverages that aren't necessarily healthy.

It is said that the effects of coffee were first discovered by an Arab shepherd who noticed that his sheep were more alert and even agitated after eating the leaves of the coffee plant. Whatever maybe true about this ancient story, the honour of the discovery can only partly be attributed to the shepherd. Honour is also due to the one who roasted the coffee bean for the first time.

Caffeine and serotonin

The stimulating effect of coffee is often attributed to just one component of the coffee bean: caffeine. Caffeine doesn't only have an arousing effect, but it's also a euphoriant. This mood enhancement occurs, similar to when you consume sugar or acohol, as a result of the production of serotonin.

This explains why most people usually have their craving for coffee in the morning when serotonin levels are at their lowest. Our morning cup of coffee doesn't only stimulate us physically, but it's also a mood boost because of its euphoriant characteristics. This can also explain 'coffee time' in the afternoon: when the sun's brightness declines, so do our serontonin levels. Caffeine can't stop this degrading of serotonin, but it can stimulate the production of new serotonin.

Considering the above, it's not surprising that the Scandinavians are the people who drink coffee most often. These Northern Europeans get less sunlight than the rest of Europe because of their location close to the Arctic Circle. This has a negative effect on their mental state and they are more prone to depression. People over there tend to try and enhance their mood by drinking coffee during the day and alcoholic beverages in the evenings.

Stimulating serotonin levels

There are a lot of other ways to enhance serotonin levels. For example, you can have more physical exercise, run a marathon, go South, have more sex, use other stimulants or just enjoy life to the fullest. Coffee is just one of many things that can enhance or degrade our mental health.

Coffee: pros and cons

Coffee can make our physical wellbeing better or worse. It can cause nervousness, insomnia and hypertension. It can also, depending on the preparation method, increase your cholesterol levels.

However, a number of researches have also proven positive effects of drinking coffee. Coffee appears to be protecting the liver, as one research showed that alcoholics who drank a lot of coffee suffered less from liver cirrhosis than subjects who didn't drink coffee. It seems to support the popular belief that drinking coffee after a heavy night out is a good idea.

Another positive effect of coffee is its diuretic function caused by the presence of caffeine.

Positive effects of coffee have been studied thoroughly. There are suggestions that coffee has a positive influence on our memory and can even stop or slow down development of diseases like Parkinsons. It can also prevent tooth deacay, because it blocks the bacteria Steptococcus Mutans that damages enamel.

Last but not least, the scent of coffee contains anti-oxidants that protect our cells from degrading. So it's a good thing to inhale deeply the next time you smell coffee.

Sources: www.todio.nl