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Some new research presented to the American Heart Association highlights some scary ways high-caffeine beverages can impede heart function.  Seven studies were reviewed with healthy participants aged 18-45, and found that energy drinks can disrupt heart rate and raise blood pressure.

The QT interval, which measures the time between heartbeats, was noticeably longer with people who had three energy drinks compared to those who had none. While this may not be relevant to an average healthy person, it may be an issue for people with underlying heart conditions and even cause heart failure.

Clearly, if you are going to drink energy drinks, it’s best to do in moderation.  With all of the health benefits of coffee, though, it is a much healthier and safer option for consuming caffeine. Read more in this article from Men’s Journal!

February is American Heart Month!  Did you know that drinking coffee is healthy for your heart? Researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reviewed five studies that analyzed the relationship between coffee consumption and heart failure risk. Of the 140,000 participants in the studies, those who regularly drank two 8-ounce cups of coffee had an 11% lower risk of heart failure than those who didn’t drink it.

Researchers think the preventative aspect comes from coffee’s healthy compounds like antioxidants, which can reduce the risk of Type II Diabetes (a known risk factor for heart failure).

Heart Disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, but fortunately it is preventable and controllable.  The CDC has some great resources for staying healthy and preventing Heart Disease available here.

Many people start the year off with resolutions about how to become healthier: watch their diet, exercise more, lose weight, etc. While these may be difficult to keep at times, drinking coffee is an easy way to become healthier in 2013.

Coffee protects against many diseases (Parkinson’s, Diabetes, Alzheimer’s, many cancers), increases concentration and provides energy, and is the leading source of antioxidants in the US diet. Oh, and it tastes great too! Also, the roasting process HealthWise uses allows it to retain more vitamins and minerals than other coffees, like calcium, potassium, iron, and zinc.

Of course, the healthiest way to drink coffee is black, without sugary and fatty additives.  From various studies, it seems that 3-5 cups per day is the best amount for these benefits. Happy 2013!

HealthWise has some specials on coffee before 1/10/13, so make sure to sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t already, or email info@healthwisegc.com for more info.

Another study on why coffee is healthy: A study conducted by US universities and funded by the American Cancer society showed that drinking coffee halves the risk of oral cancer, even in smokers and drinkers. Adults who drank more than 4 cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 49% lower risk of dying from mouth and throat cancer than those who drank none or drank it occasionally.  The study was independent of risk factors like smoking and alcohol intake, and the same reduction in risk was not found for tea drinkers.

The study examined around 900,000 people from the study that ran from 1982 to 2008 by the American Cancer Society.

Some of us decide to stop drinking caffeinated coffee long before bedtime because of the caffeine’s effects. About 10% of the American population suffers from insomnia, and some of that can surprisingly be caused by food.  Below are 5 foods that may contribute to sleep problems:

• 1. Fatty Foods: Johns Hopkins researchers show that overweight or obese people who lose weight can improve sleeping problems like insomnia, sleep apnea, and restless sleep. The key ingredient is reduction in overall body fat which also helps to reduce over the counter sleep aid use.
• 2. Veggies: These are great for you, but be careful of what time of day you eat them. Eating raw broccoli or cauliflower too close to bedtime can cause stomach unrest and sleep problems. Closer to bedtime opt for a banana with tryptophan, magnesium, and potassium, which help improve sleep.

•3.       Cured Meats:  Bacon, pepperoni, and sausage contain high levels of tyramine, which is an amino acid that boosts the secretion of brain stimulants which can keep you up at night. On a side note, these meats are also linked to COPD (lung disease) and certain cancers.

•4.       Sugar: Short-term sugar boosts from desserts like ice cream and candy can send your mind racing as you try to fall asleep, and may also contribute to nightmares.

•5.       Chocolate: A common dessert food, dark chocolate can sometimes have as much caffeine as an energy drink! While good for your heart, it’s best to eat it earlier in the day. Trail mix is a better choice, especially since it contains nuts which have melatonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.

A few easy changes to daily habits were featured yesterday on The Today Show, and one of them was how to gain more energy from coffee and a quick nap.  If you take the recommended 20 minute short nap to recharge, you’ll gain more energy if you drink a cup of coffee before closing your eyes.  Since it takes about 20 minutes for the caffeine to reach your bloodstream, you’ll be feeling more energized because caffeine’s effects will be starting while your nap is ending!  See more quick tips here.

In addition to all of the other recent discoveries about coffee’s health benefits (protecting against dementia, certain types of cancers, risk of premature death, and more), reducing physical pain may also be added to the list!  A group of participants recently spent 90 minutes performing fake computer tasks, meant to mimic a day doing office work.  Typically, these tasks can cause pain in the shoulders, neck, forearms and wrists.  Participants were told they could drink coffee or not before the study, whichever was their typical routine.

The researchers at Norway’s National Institute of Occupational Health found that the 19 people who drank coffee before the study began reported a lower intensity of pain than the 29 people who did not.  Pain intensity gaps were found in all pain sites measured and the effect was true regardless of whether the participants already experienced chronic pain.  While it’s hard to know the other factors involved in the study, it looks like coffee drinkers have a less painful workday!

More than one third of all Americans suffer from chronic pain, and many rely on pain medication to ease their symptoms.  Certain foods can actually help chronic pain sufferers by blocking pain signals, fighting inflammation, and even healing the disease itself.  By eating healthfully pain can be improved or even eliminated. Here are three pain-relieving foods and how they help:

• 1. Cherries: These contain compounds called anthocyanins, which block inflammation and inhibit pain enzymes, just like aspirin does. One study in Journal of Nutritionshowed people who ate a bowl of cherries for breakfast reduced inflammation by 25%.

• 2. Coffee: Caffeine in your daily cup of coffee helps reduce pain by narrowing dilated blood vessels which develop with headaches. Coffeealso reduces pain-promoting compounds and amplifies the effects of other pain relievers.

• 3. Salmon, Herring, Sardines: Fish that are low in mercury and high in omega-3 fatty acids can help relieve back pain. In a healthy back, blood vessels transport nutrients to spinal disks and when blood flow is diminished, these disks lose thier nutrients and degenerate. Omega-3s help improve blood flow and thus degeneration. Additionally, fish oil is beneficial for cardiovascular protection and improved mood.

With summer in full swing, many of us are thinking about protecting our skin from the sun when we head outside.  Some more recent good news for coffee drinkers is that the more we drink, the more we may be protecting ourselves against skin cancer.

Cancer Research published a report that drinking more caffeinated coffee can lower the chances of developing basal cell carcinoma, which is the most common form of skin cancer.  This was determined by more than 112,000 people over 20 years.  It’s likely this protective benefit is linked to caffeine because tea, soda, and chocolate (all of which are caffeinated) seemed to lower the risk.  Why not bring an iced coffee next time you head to the beach?