But regardless of whether you are a three cup a day person or once in a while type of coffee drinker, there are several health benefits associated with drinking coffee.

Coffee Reduces Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

A recent study compared non-coffee drinkers to coffee drinkers and found that those who consumed three or more cups a coffee a day were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes. The study concluded that the high levels of magnesium and chromium help the body metabolize insulin, which is integral to controlling blood sugar. You can read the details of that study here.

And for those of us who enjoy our coffee with a little less jolt, decaffeinated coffee has the same effect, leading researchers to believe that it is likely not due to caffeine. And because coffee lowers the risk for type 2 diabetes, it also contributes to lower instances of heart disease and stroke.

Coffee Lowers Risk for Age-Related Cognitive Decline

High consumption of this hot brew is linked to lower risk of Parkinson disease and dementia.

Another study found that those who consumed three to five cups of coffee daily had a 65% reduced risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. This is said to be because coffee boosts levels of granulocyte colony (the growth factor responsible for staving off brain deterioration). You can check out that study here.

Several other studies have shown that depression can accelerate the deteriorative effects of dementia and Alzheimer’s on the brain, but that women who drink coffee have a lower risk of developing depression than women who don’t.

According to that study, two cups daily amounts to a 15% lower risk and four or more cups daily raises that number to 20%. The reason being is that caffeine affects the brain and modulates the release of mood transmitters.

Coffee is a Cancer Preventative

With instances of cancer on the rise, it’s important for people to know that consumption of coffee can help the body defend itself against this predatory illness. Here’s what a few studies on the subject found:

• High intake levels of coffee are linked with decreased chances of developing liver cirrhosis (which can lead to liver cancer).

• Men who drink six cups daily lower their risk of developing dangerous forms of prostate cancer by a whopping 60%; they can also lower their chances for other types of prostate cancer by 20%.
• One to three cups daily cuts prostate cancer risk by 30%. With instances of prostate cancer on the rise in men, this discovery is huge for our husbands, fathers, brothers, and friends.

The most common cancer in the world is skin cancer, and coffee consumption helps ward off that too!

• Women who consume one or more cups daily lower their risk by 20%, while that same consumption level lowers the risk in men by 9%. Unfortunately, when it comes to cancer, decaffeinated coffee did not display the same positive effects.

Coffee Increases Regularity

Coffee may help you “go” for a great many reasons, including the fact that drinking warm liquids gets things moving.  The fact that it’s a liquid helps as well, since staying hydrated is one way to prevent constipation. And since coffee is a powerful stimulant, it encourages muscle contractions within the digestive tract.

Coffee Can Help You Lose Weight

With the New Year readily upon us, many people find themselves resolving to lose weight, and coffee is the perfect weight loss drink.

Here’s what some studies on the link between coffee and weight loss have found:

• Coffee boosts metabolism and is naturally low in calories, assuming there isn’t the aforementioned whip cream and the like, because those will quickly take this low calorie drink into the caloric stratosphere.
• For those undertaking a new exercise regime, coffee boosts energy levels, which in turn will help maximize exercise efforts. But be sure to stay hydrated as coffee is a diuretic and flushes excess from our systems.

Coffee Aids in Exercise Recovery

Whether you’re a seasoned coffee drinker or simply a dabbler, drinking coffee before a workout has been proven to prevent post-workout soreness. This is due to the fact that caffeine works on a system in the brain and spinal cord (the adenosine neuromodulatory system) that is heavily involved in pain processing.

And since caffeine blocks adenosine, the biochemical that plays an important role in energy transfer, it is speculated that it could also reduce pain.

Coffee Has Anti-Aging Antioxidants

These days the world is consumed with stopping the clock. Coffee is brimming with antioxidants, which work to remove free radicals throughout the body.

Free radicals are responsible for premature aging such as:

• age spot
• wrinkles
• fine lines
• sagging skin

Consuming as little as two cups of coffee daily can have significant effects in how our body ages.

No matter how you look at it, coffee is essential for maintaining and improving the health of our bodies, due in large part to the antioxidants and the caffeine. Both of these substances have health and anti-aging benefits that help repair damage to cells caused by free radicals (which are produced as a byproduct of cells just doing their daily thing).

Coffee can also help in fighting diseases ranging from Parkinson’s Disease, cancer, depression to obesity. Both the antioxidants and the caffeine, each with different potential benefits for improving health and reducing the risk of chronic illnesses, are essential for any healthy living endeavor.

The website, publichealthadvocacy.org, states this….”Scientific evidence consistently supports the conclusion that drinking soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages increases a person’s risk of being overweight or obese. As a result, reducing the amount of sugar-sweetened beverages people drink is an important strategy to reverse the obesity epidemic in California and across the country.”   The United States is the largest soda consumer, drinking 13.15 billion gallons of carbonated drinks every year.  Drinking carbonated beverages, adolescents not only face obesity, but also are at risk for bone fractures higher than those who don’t, reduced bone mass and decreased calcium levels in the blood.  The sugar and the acid in these drinks will also dissolve tooth enamel. 

Soda, especially colas, contain caffeine and phosphoric acid.  This has a direct effect on bone mineral density.  Bone mineral density is reduced in osteoporosis.  What causes osteoporosis?  A reduction in the protein and mineral matrix of the bone.  This will cause an increase in the risk of fracture and can be easily prevented with diet and lifestyle changes.  There have been many studies of school age children (girls especially), that have concluded soda drinking was associated with decreased levels of blood calcium and increased urinary calcium, which could cause osteoporosis later in life.  These studies have also found high bone fractures in cola consuming high school girls.

Soda consumption by children and adults is one of the most harmful habits we have.  Soda is filled with empty calories.  Diet soda is not any better.  It is filled with artificial sweeteners which are more dangerous and can also lead to weight gain.  As a parent, you are role models for your kids, for their eating habits and their social skills.  According to the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), out of over 100 soft drinks  and beverages analyzed by the government, five contained levels of benzene.  Benzene is a cancer-causing chemical linked to leukemia. 

Researchers from UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy “discovered a strong correlation between soda consumption and weight.  Based upon data from more than 40,000 interviews conducted……researchers found that adults who drink a soda or more per day are 27 percent more likely to be overweight than those who do not drink sodas…”  As our physical activity remained the same, our intake of calories increased.  More than 43 percent of the new calories were from soda consumption.  Children are at a more alarming risk of obesity and diabetes with their soda consumption.  Soda is inexpensive, easy to obtain and children and teens are targeted in advertising.  One soda a day is too much for your child.  This drink is filling our kid’s bodies with empty calories and “filling” them up so there is no room for healthy food. 

Type 2 diabetes has also increased during the last 20 years.  Besides increasing obesity in children, the increase in obesity in adults, may also increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.  This risk is greater in women.  Sugar-sweetened beverages provide excessive calories and large amounts of absorbable sugars.  Soda is empty calories.  

Water will quench your thirst much better than soda.  Water will remove toxins from the body and will aid in digestion and curb your appetite.  Eat fruits and high water content veggies and dilute your fruit drinks.  Begin a juicing routine. 

Drink healthy.

250 mg of caffeine cause the same intoxicating side effect of any other drug overdose.  This result is caused when these drinks are taken in excess in one day.  There have been thousands of hospital emergencies related to these products (four cases a week due to intoxification of energy drinks).  Here’s what Wikipedia states, “The results of a study conducted in 2008 showed that the ingestion of one, 250mL can of sugar-free Red Bull, in a sample of 30 healthy young adults, had an immediate detrimental effect on both endothelial function, and normal blood coagulation. This temporarily raised the cardiovascular risk in these individuals to a level comparable to that of an individual with established coronary artery disease.”

A common energy drink, produced by an Austrian company, Red Bull contains 110 calories and 27 grams of sugar.  That’s almost 2 tablespoons of sugar.  The sugar free variety contains only 10 calories, but is sweetened with aspartame (and we know how bad that is for you).  One can contains 80 mg of caffeine which is more than three times that of the same amount of Coke.  The last time I had a soda was in a root beer float years ago, and I am not the slightest bit interested in these energy drinks.  They are just sugar water mixed with caffeine and should not be used for rehydration.  Unfortunately, these products are marketed to our youth and there are no laws to govern the adequate labeling of nutritional factors.  These drinks are attractive to our young people (adults too) for their promise to refuel yourself quickly, great for fatigue, and will give you that much needed boost if you need to pull an all nighter.  Advertisements in Playstation games, sporting events such as racing and extreme sports, have caused the company to earn around $1 billion in worldwide sales for 2000.  In Denmark and Uruguay the “selling of Red Bull is prohibited due to health concerns.”  These drinks should never be used to rehydrate your body and never be combined with alcohol, but guess what? That’s exactly what they are being used for. 

Where is this leading us?  Read your labels.  Know your ingredients and their effect on your health.  Slow down.  Relax.  Enjoy life.  Eat healthier.  Get out there and walk.

Thoughts and prayers to Michael Jackson’s family and friends.

Certainly the object is to relieve the body of the stuff that accumulates over the years.  I’ve heard stories of not just waste product, but one woman said she released a crayon that she had swallowed as a child during a cleanse.  Not convinced?  Here’s more…..My parents and brother were working at a well known health retreat where detoxing with raw food, wheatgrass and green drinks, is the first step to healing.  My Dad tells a story about a woman who was diagnosed with a tumor in her uterus and before surgery; she was going to give this process a try.  One day my Dad is walking by her room and she comes running out screaming “I passed the tumor!  I passed the tumor!”  Sure enough, that’s what she actually had done.  She took the mass to her doctor for diagnosis.  Get ready for this…..not for the squeamish……The mass was a tampon that had remained in her body for probably years and the body was protecting itself from this foreign body the only way it knew how.  Hence, the tumor.  Ok, so now you may be ready to set an intention for your cleanse or fast, right?

There are many forms of cleansing.  I chose the raw food way.  It took about three months.  Eating living food for three months, I believe, totally cleaned out any leftover waste product that was in my colon.  It also cleans out the emotional “crap” in your body.  Again, the body needs the rest from digestion in order to start the healing process.  Toxins like undigested food, left in the body, will start to look for something to feed off of.  These toxins also give off waste product of their own, and cancer cells in your body will feed off this waste product.   

There are many varieties of cleansing from dietary restriction to supplements.  Herbs and supplements can speed up the process of detox.  You can also buy products that are for specific areas of the body, such as the colon, liver or kidneys.  You can use teas, drops, pills or liquid for your cleanse.  Wheatgrass juice is intended for rapid detoxification and well as general health.  It is a living food.  It will immediately go to where it is needed in the body.  When I did my wheatgrass cleanse, I expelled mucous that was the color and scent of a common household cleaner.  I have a cleaning business and was inhaling way too much of this product over a ten year span.  Cleansing can also reduce and eliminate cravings from food to tobacco.  It can help with weight loss, increase your energy and alleviate some chronic diseases. 

I’ve seen in my reading, many medical doctors saying that cleansing is totally unnecessary because the human body can maintain itself.  I certainly would’ve agreed to that a long time ago.  However, now humans smoke, drink, abuse drugs and take in more processed and genetically engineered food than ever before.  Faster is better.  The faster chickens grow…..the faster tomatoes grow….well you know the rest.

So back to can the body heal itself? Absolutely, that is what it is intended to do!  But not if we continue to abuse it.  A cleanse is the perfect way to give your body a break.  Taking out processed foods, sugars, caffeine and alcohol are just for starters.  Does that mean you can never have a drink or eat a cookie?  Of course not, everything in moderation…..harmony.  Start to wonder.  What is it that you need?  What could be building up inside of you?  Are you attached to it?  Are you ready to release and start healing today?

Today, I wish you release of the physical as well as the emotional stuff that is holding you back from total health.

As always, please consult your primary health care physician if you suffer from any serious medical condition.  These statements are for informational purposes only.

So, in addition to its incredible taste, clearing the fog of sleep, and making everything good come your way, what exactly can coffee do to assist in a healthy lifestyle? I’m glad you asked. For starters it can lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and colon cancer. It can lift your mood, treat headaches and even lower your risk of cavities.

Sound too good to be true? Well researchers with very big brains at Harvard don’t think so. After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, they determined that one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits AND having six cups or more each day slashed men’s risk by 54% and women’s by 30%. And that’s just one of hundreds of studies suggesting that coffee may be something of a health food — especially in higher amounts.

Over six studies have shown that people who drink coffee on a regular basis are up to 80% less likely to develop Parkinson’s, with three showing the more they drink, the lower the risk. Other research shows that compared to not drinking coffee, at least two cups daily can translate to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer, an 80% drop in liver cirrhosis risk, and nearly half the risk of gallstones. There’s also evidence that coffee may help manage asthma and control attacks when medication isn’t available.

Is it a miracle? I think so. But there are scientific reasons for all this good as well. Oddly enough many of coffee’s benefits are a direct result of its high caffeine content. There is very strong evidence that the risk reduction for Parkinson’s disease is directly related to caffeine and in fact, based on this evidence, some Parkinson’s drugs are now being developed that contain a derivative of caffeine. Caffeine is also what helps in treating asthma and headaches and it can also be a powerful aid in enhancing athletic endurance and performance. It stimulates the brain and nervous system making you more alert and boosting concentration. A study in Brazil even found that children who drink coffee with milk each day are less likely to have depression than other children.

Be cautious however and pay attention to what your own body says. In some, coffee can increase nervousness, hand trembling, and cause rapid heartbeat. Coffee may also raise cholesterol levels and contribute to artery clogging. But most recent large studies show no significant adverse effects on most healthy people. (Pregnant women, heart patients, and those at risk for osteoporosis may still be advised to limit or avoid coffee.)

Another reason for all these incredible health benefits comes from the fact that coffee is loaded with antioxidants, some of which become especially potent during the roasting process. A certain group of antioxidant compounds called quinines, when administered to lab rats increased their insulin sensitivity which partially explains why studies have shown that those drinking decaf coffee but not tea beverages also showed a reduced diabetes risk (though it was about half as much as those drinking caffeinated coffee). Another Italian study showed that another compound called trigonelline, which gives coffee its aroma and bitter taste, has both antibacterial and anti-adhesive properties which is what helps to prevent dental cavities from forming.

Halleluja! I think I’ll have another cup.

Be Well,

Juicy Josh

877MyJuicer.com