Anaheim,
CA (3/24/99)- Good news java junkies- not only is coffee not very addictive,
along with its caffeinated cousins tea and cocoa, it appears to offer several
potential health benefits, according to new research presented at the national
meeting of the American Chemical Society.
French researchers reported that
caffeine has no affect on the area of the brain involved with addiction at
doses of one to three cups of coffee per day. Astrid Nehlig, Ph.D., of the
French National Health and Medical Research Institute conducted research with
laboratory animals that confirmed that while moderate does of caffeine contribute
to increased alertness and energy, dependence does not occur at those levels.
In this respect, caffeine appears
to act differently from amphetamines, cocaine, morphine or nicotine, Nehlig
says. These drugs are known to trigger functional activity in the shell of
the nucleus accumbens, the part of the brain responsible for addiction even
at low doses, she says.
In a related presentation, researchers
from the University of Bristol reviewed a decade of research into caffeine's
influence on cognition and mood. The survey revealed that a cup of coffee
can help in the performance of tasks requiring sustained attention, even during
low alertness situations such as after lunch, at night or when a person has
a cold.
Tea drinkers also got some good
news. Researchers from the Japanese Food Research Institute reported new data
about a major group of compounds in green tea called catechins. These compounds
have anti-oxidative, as well as antibacterial and even antiviral potency,
the researchers noted.American researchers reported that these same compounds
inhibited atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries in hamsters during
a 10 week dose-response experiment. Both green and black tea lowered lipids
and lipid oxidation in the hamsters, even at very low dilutions, according
to a University of Scranton investigator.
Possibly the best news of all
is that even chocolate has previously unexpected potential health benefits.
In one study presented at the conference, researchers reported that cacao
liquor, an ingredient of chocolate and cocoa, contains antioxidative polyphenolic
substances. In animal studies, these compounds showed anti-ulceric activity
in rats, as well as an inhibitory effect on tumor promotion in mouse skin.
A related in vitro study suggested that these polyphenolic compounds, specifically
the procyanidins and oligomeric procyanidins that contribute to the flavor
of chocolate and cocoa, may also offer cardiovascular benefits.
Chocolate appears to be a particularly good source of antioxidants, reported
by Joseph Vinson, Ph.D. His work suggests that the quality and quantity of
the antioxidants in chocolate is very high relative to other common foods
and beverages such as black tea, red wine, apples, raisins, pinto beans and
other plant products. Dark chocolate contained four times the level of polyphenol
antioxidants compared to kidney beans, which have one of the highest levels
found in fruits or vegetables. Cocoa powder was even higher, containing seven
times the amount of antioxidants found in the beans.
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