Coffee has become the favorite drink for office workers. It has a rich aroma, helps to eliminate fatigue and refresh the mind, and is also the top choice for many night owls. You have probably also heard that drinking coffee is not good for your health. But when it comes to the specific harms of coffee, you are not so clear, are you? If I told you that long-term coffee consumption might lead to poisoning, would you still dare to drink it? Let's take a look at the story between "coffee" and "health" together!
Coffee, along with tea and cocoa, is known as the three major beverages in the world. The coffee we drink daily is made from coffee beans using various different brewing equipment. Coffee beans come from the kernels inside the fruit of the coffee tree, and they need to be roasted with appropriate methods during the coffee-making process.
Coffee has a particularly strong bitter taste, making it the most bitter among many beverages. It can stimulate the central nervous system, heart, and respiratory system. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the bitter flavor enters the heart.
Although coffee tastes bitter, it has a pleasant aroma and is rich in nutritional ingredients, including tannic acid (which decomposes into caffeic acid after boiling), fats (fatty acids and volatile fats), protein, sugar, fiber, minerals, vitamin B2, niacin, and caffeine. Among these, the volatile fats emit various aromatic fragrances, which are the main source of coffee's aroma.
It is precisely because coffee contains caffeine that moderate consumption can help relieve muscle fatigue and promote digestion. It also promotes kidney function, has a diuretic effect, and helps expel excess sodium ions from the body. However, if you drink too much coffee and consume excessive caffeine, it can lead to caffeine poisoning, which seriously harms human health.
Although coffee is fragrant, it should not be consumed in excess.
Expert reminders:
First, do not drink coffee with tea. The tannic acid in tea and coffee seriously affects the absorption of iron, reducing it by up to 75%.
Second, do not consume it with foods high in calcium. The tannic acid in coffee can reduce calcium absorption, so it is best to drink coffee between meals.
Third, pregnant women should not consume large amounts of caffeinated beverages and foods to avoid poisoning symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, headaches, and increased heart rate, as well as to prevent affecting fetal development.
Fourth, obese people should not drink too much coffee. Coffee creamers contain a lot of dairy, sugar, and fat. Coffee itself may stimulate gastric juice secretion, promoting the digestion and absorption of food, which can easily lead to weight gain.
Fifth, children should not drink coffee. Caffeine can excite a child's central nervous system, making them abnormally hyperactive and damaging their health.
Sixth, people who are tense, anxious, or have high blood pressure should avoid drinking coffee. Caffeine can cause blood pressure to rise, leading to palpitations and sweating. Studies have shown that after drinking a cup of coffee, blood pressure can remain elevated for up to 12 hours.
Special note:
A large dose of caffeine is a drug. If you drink too much coffee over a long period, it can lead to caffeine poisoning. Caffeine poisoning includes addiction and a series of adverse physical and psychological reactions, such as nervousness, irritability, anxiety, tremors, muscle twitching (hyperreflexia), insomnia, and palpitations.