Caffeine
Caffeine is the most widely used stimulant on the planet.
We’ve put together a list of some of the possible caffeine health benefits according to different studies that have been conducted over the years.
9 Caffeine Health Benefits:
1. In Japan researchers have shown that caffeine increases memory. Also, a newer study out of Johns Hopkins University showed that a 200mg caffeine pill helped boost memory consolidation.
2. Caffeine can stimulate hair growth on balding men and women.
3. Caffeine helps ward off Alzheimer’s.
4. Caffeine protects against eyelid spasm.
5. Caffeine may protect against Cataracts.
6. Caffeine may prevent skin cancer. A new study out of Rutgers University found that caffeine prevented skin cancer in hairless mice. Another study showed that caffeinated coffee drinkers have less risk of developing melanoma.
7. People who consume caffeine have a lower risk of suicide.Src.
8. Caffeine may prevent ringing in the ears (tinnitus) in women: A study recently published in The American Journal of Medicine followed a group of 65,085 nurses since 1991. The women who consumed the most caffeine had the least incidences of tinnitus reported. Src.
9. Caffeine improves reaction time and logical reasoning during times when sleep isn’t possible or restricted. See the study here.
There can be negative health consequences from consuming too much caffeine, so don’t go too crazy.
Also some of the benefits of caffeine have only been researched within the context of caffeinated coffee.
Rutaecarpine
Found in the Evodia Fruit
Daily Decaffeinate contains 100mg of rutaecarpine from the Evodia fruit, which is rich in the substance. The Evodia fruit is native to China and Korea and has been used for digestion problems and lack of appetite in Traditional Chinese Medicine for many years. Recently a study published in the Archives of Pharmacal Research looked at rutaecarpine's effect on caffeine.
The results clearly suggest that rutaecarpine increases the metabolism of caffeine in rats.
WebMD notes Evodia's interaction with caffeine and states that it may reduce caffeine's effectiveness.
Rutaecarpine speeds up the rate at which caffeine is broken down and removed from the body.
Here are some further health benefits when caffeine is consumed via coffee.
It is also interesting that these benefits didn’t carry over to those that drank decaffeinated coffee.
Caffeinated Coffee Health Benefits:
Caffeinated coffee cuts mouth and throat cancer risk by 50%.
Coffee can reduce risk of stroke as much as 22%.
Heart rhythm disturbance hospitalizations decrease with coffee drinkers.
Caffeinated Coffee may help with weight loss. Research out of Melbourne, Australia is finding that study participants are reporting decreased appetite when drinking regular coffee as opposed to decaf or caffeine tablets as part of an ongoing study.
People who drink at least 4 coffees or teas have lower blood pressure according to a new study out of Paris. Tea drinkers had the most blood pressure benefit, while coffee drinkers had just slightly less.
Research out of Greece shows that Greek boiled coffee may increase longevity and heart health.
While this list might seem like a green light for caffeine consumption, it does come with a few caveats. In most cases the caffeine health benefits were realized by those who consumed moderate coffee/caffeine amounts. Also in some of the studies above, the caffeine was concentrated and applied directly to the body area being researched, i.e. cataracts and baldness etc.. Therefore, dietary caffeine would not produce the same results.
We can conclude that caffeine consumed via natural sources is probably the best since many of the health benefits of caffeine are probably largely due to the high antioxidant levels found in regular coffee and tea.
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