Caffeine the wonder drug: Is coffee healthy?

You have a headache, you are exhausted, sleepy, without energy.

You are dissatisfied, irritable and depressed … when did you last have a coffee? What seems like an illness may be nothing more than caffeine withdrawal. After 24 hours without coffee, it can take up to 10 days until withdrawal symptoms have passed.

Caffeine is a psychostimulant — it stimulates, improves concentration, reduces fatigue, and even improves long-term memory and the working of the brain. It is the most widely sold legal drug in the world. And it has many benefits. Coffee can strengthen the heart, widen the respiratory tract and stimulate the digestive tract. Depending on their genetics, some people can sleep wonderfully when they drink coffee in the evening, but others lie awake at night because they break down the caffeine very slowly.

While the caffeine in coffee is quickly digested in the stomach but has a short effect, the caffeine in tea needs longer to be released into the small intestine.

So is coffee healthy? A recently published British meta-analysis of more than 200 studies has now shown that coffee certainly has its health-promoting aspects. There were 16 per cent fewer deaths from heart attacks and strokes, the cancer risk (especially for prostate cancer and colorectal cancer) was even reduced by 18 per cent, and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s also showed up significantly less in coffee drinkers. Coffee even seems to protect DNA. The coffee bean consists not only of caffeine, but also of more than 1,000 plant substances that have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

However, pregnant women should be cautious. The caffeine enters the placenta. This can lead to bone formation disorders and reduced birth weight. Women with osteoporosis should also avoid coffee. And then there are people who tend to be anxious.

The caffeine can raise pulse rates and is a trigger for panic attacks. The ideal amount seems to be three to four cups, four hours before you want to sleep.

So what type of coffee is best? Espresso or filter coffee, ground or instant, with or without milk?

Espresso is better digested in the stomach, filter coffee is better for those whose cholesterol is too high.

Ground coffee affords better health protection than instant. And milk makes the caffeine absorb more slowly, and you stay awake longer. So whatever your taste, there may be a coffee for you.

Dr Kubenz’s column appears monthly.

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