To your health! Please raise that coffee mug at least twice a day, according to the latest research.
But not just any coffee. Quality and source matter, and caffeinated please, hold that decaf, as the caffeine in coffee, is responsible for a slew of benefits and helps kill mycotoxins, but more on that later.
Did you know that coffee is the number one source of antioxidants for Americans? Antioxidants clean free radicals out of your bloodstream and are factors in the prevention of skin cancer, cardiovascular disease, depression, memory and cognitive impairment, type-2 diabetes and Parkinson’s disease and immune dysfunction. Now there is more great news for coffee lovers this week.
Dr. Alex Hodge, from the School of Clinical Sciences at Monash University, told Aussie radio that those who drank coffee were less likely to suffer liver disease. This is adding to the promising 2006 study that revealed coffee helped the liver cope with alcohol damage.
“The research would suggest that,” he explained on 3AW Breakfast.
“Certainly moderate amounts of coffee, depending on the liver disease you’re looking at, seem to be associated with less liver damage and probably less liver fat, as well.”
But the latest researchers found that regular coffee drinkers had a lower risk of dying – during this study’s follow-up that occurred over three decades – from problems such as heart diseases, type-2 diabetes, brain/cognitive ailments and suicide.
A new study published in the journal Circulation supports these claims and found that the health of regular coffee drinkers–people who drank less than five cups of coffee in a given day–were shown to have a lower risk of dying early from a number of different causes.
The connection of coffee to a quality of life and longevity effect is a fascinating path that is being traveled by many researchers these days. More importantly, the cause and effects of pesticides and harmful chemicals used on coffee are now under the bug light by savvy consumers. These educated coffee lovers are demanding fair trade, organic and single source quality arabica (not robusta) beans grown in drier climates, and not stored improperly but roasted and dated by ethical coffee roasters who trade with smaller coffee growers who are certified organic growers.
Jamie Weldon, (L) with Nick Pronovich (C) and Gunar Skillins (R) the Dancing Moon Coffee executives
None of these findings were lost on entrepreneur Jamie Weldon of Dancing Moon Coffee Company, a boutique coffee import company who deals only with ethical growers who are certified organic, and who operate fair trade farms that protect worked (and the end consumer) from chemical exposure. Weldon tells Monsters and Critics, “All of our Dancing Moon Coffees are naturally high in antioxidants preserved in our special roasting process which activates even more of these powerful antioxidants. So just one delicious cup of our roasts from our small growers in Jamaica, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sumatra or Colombia gives you three times more antioxidants than a cup of green tea, and they taste rich and complex, each vastly different from each other.”
Weldon added, “The term ‘Fair Trade Certified’ means you are buying ethically farmed and sourced commodities, and when you support these small growers you help to end poverty. Workers on Fair Trade farms are guaranteed safe working conditions and are earning a better wage.”
The mycotoxins mentioned previously are the hot dietary debate among devotees, with Dave Asprey’s Bulletproof coffee empire built on the notion that we are all consuming too much mold in our diet. Mycotoxins are mold toxins that grow in beans harvested in wetter climate areas and found less in arabica beans grown in dry climates. Humid climates allow toxins to grow and can survive the roasting process.
The researchers found the lower risk of death was similar among people who drank caffeinated as well as decaffeinated coffee. But other experts and researchers who study coffee note that it is important to know that caffeinated coffee is superior to decaffeinated for a variety of reasons. Decaf coffee is higher in both aflatoxin and ochratoxin.
Dancing Moon Coffee Health Alert from Gunar Skillins on Vimeo.
Weldon said, “It looks like the research is adding up to positive news for all lovers of good coffee, and that mindful quality coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy lifestyle.”