Thursday, January 13, 2011
Is there such a thing as a good addiction? You just found one: coffee
If you enjoy your coffee and feel some kind of remorse, here is the reason to not feel the guilt. According to a new study published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association, drinking coffee reduces the risk of stroke in women. This study reported that women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee a day had a 20% reduced risk of stroke when compared to women who had less than 1 cup per month. Moreover, drinking 2 to 3 cups per day reduced the risk by 19% and drinking a cup 5 to 7 times a week reduced the risk by 12%.
This was an observational study, meaning that the participants were not assigned to drink coffee or not to drink coffee. The analysis was done using data on 83,076 women who participated in the Nurse’s Health Study, which recruited women with no history of stroke, heart disease, diabetes or cancer. The coffee intake was first assessed in 1980 and repeated the assessment every 2 to 4 years with follow-up until 2004, by filling out a food frequency questionnaires about their diet. Throughout these 24 years, the authors documented 2,280 strokes.
Women who never smoked and drank 4 cups or more a day was associated with a 43% reduction in stroke risk, while women who smoked and drank 4 cups or more a day was associated with only 3% reduction in stroke risk, suggesting that the benefit of coffee in nonsmokers is more significant than smokers. Interestingly, decaffeinated coffee consumption also reduces the risk of stroke in women, indicating that the reduction of stroke risk is not due to caffeine. To further confirm, women who drank tea and caffeinated soft drink did not experience the reduction in stroke risk, suggesting that other components in coffee are responsible for this beneficial effect.
The authors of the report concluded that “long-term coffee consumption was not associated with an increased risk of stroke in women. In contrast, the data suggest that coffee consumption may modestly reduce risk of stroke”. The biological mechanism still unknown, therefore further investigation is needed prior to be considered a clinical practice.
If you’re looking to lower your risk of stroke, you may utilize standard practice such as: discontinue smoke, maintain a healthy weight by implementing daily physical activity, control high blood pressure (lowering your dietary salt intake, medication), control high cholesterol (lowering fat intake), control diabetes (maintain healthy weight by lowering your dietary fat intake, increase physical activity and lowering your alcohol intake).
Health Tips
Is the economic melt down affecting your emotional health? Look for the signs of stress and how they affect your physical health and learn how to protect your well-being.
With the present unstable economy, daily reports of recession and depression, the stock market as a roller coaster, housing placed foreclosure and short-sale, loss of employment, loss of retirement savings, Americans are experiencing excessive stress, anxiety and even trauma. We are all aware of the stress that this economy is causing, but are we aware of the impact that is causing to our health?
The number of Americans that lost their jobs, their houses, their investments are astronomical. Even the ones that still have their jobs, still have their houses, still have their finances covered, are going through stress, not knowing what they will be facing in the near future.
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), the top causes of stress in America is money (81%), economy (80%), work (67%), and health problems affecting family (67%).
It is well known that when stress becomes chronic (long-term) your body will respond to it. It has been reported lately that physicians are seeing more patients with stress-induced illness. The mental health centers are receiving more calls than ever. Even children are suffering, according to therapists.
In order to better cope with the economic stress, reach out to family, friend and professional help, if necessary. Many studies demonstrated that receiving support from others is very effective in managing stress.
Stress can cause health problems or make problems that you already have worse. You have to learn to deal with it.
What are the possible signs of stress?
And people with stress usually feel:
Do you recognize any of the signs above? So, what can you do to manage your stress? First, can you change the event or thing that is creating your stress? Most of the time, this is not possible. A second way is to change how you react to stress, and this is the best way to deal with your stress.
In order to manage the stress you should:
Invest in your emotional health
Don’t ignore your emotional health. Like your physical health, emotional healthy requires time and energy to maintain. By preserving your emotional health you will have a healthier recovery back from stress.
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