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Coffee and Medical Research
It has been proven that pregnancy greatly increases the time required for
a woman's body to metabolize caffeine, and, as caffeine can be transferred
to a fetus, it is recommended that a pregnant woman reduce her regular
coffee intake by at least 50 per cent, with greater spaces of time between
cups. If concerned, eliminate all caffeine from the diet during pregnancy.
For years, many thorough and exhaustive
studies have been conducted to try to link coffee consumption with cancer
or heart disease, but to no avail; nor does caffeine cause high blood
pressure. One study indicating a definite link between coffee and high
blood cholesterol (which in itself may cause cardiovascular problems),
found that cholesterol was increased only in certain subjects who drank
large amounts of coffee prepared by a particular Scandinavian method of
excessive boiling and steeping of coffee.
Filtering the boiled coffee before
consumption, however, seemed to
eliminate the cholesterol-raising oils. Other tests which link boiled
coffee to an increase in cholesterol have proved that it is some other
substance, and not caffeine which raises the cholesterol levels, as
decaffeinated coffee - but only that which has been boiled and
is consumed unfiltered - seems
to contribute to higher cholesterol.
Of course, if one suffers from low
caffeine tolerance, is concerned
about the safety of caffeine
consumption, or simply wants to enjoy the taste of a late-night coffee
drink without losing any sleep, a
decaffeinated or even one brewed half-and-half, provides a perfectly
acceptable alternative.
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