Health Care

by: JH Reynolds

Caffeine, the chemical stimulant in coffee and tea, has been found to lower the risk of skin cancer in laboratory mice.

A study suggests that a skin lotion spiked with caffeine or with another compound found in green tea can reduce by more than half the number of cancer tumors on the skin of hairless mice exposed to brutal levels of ultraviolet radiation, said Dr. Allan Conney, a professor of cancer and leukemia research at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J.

"We had between 50 to 70 percent tumor formation inhibition in the mice that were treated with caffeine or with EGCG (the other chemical compound)," said Conney, senior author of a study appearing this week in the online site of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Skin cancer is the most common of all cancers in the United States. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates about a million cases will be diagnosed in the country this year. Among them will be more than 88,000 new cases of melanoma, the disease's deadliest form. Skin cancer generally is curable by cutting, burning or freezing the tumor cells, but untreated it can be deadly.

To test effects of caffeine on skin cancer, Conney and his colleagues exposed 90 mice to high levels of ultraviolet radiation twice a day for 20 days. They used a strain of animals, called hairless mice, commonly used for skin cancer studies.

After the mice got their UVB doses, the animals were divided into three groups. One group were slathered daily with a solution of acetone and caffeine. Another group received acetone and EGCG. The third group got skin applications of acetone only. Acetone is an organic solution often used on the skin.

At the end of 18 weeks, the three groups of mice were killed, and the level of skin tumor formation was analyzed.

Conney said mice in all three groups developed malignant skin tumors, called squamous cell carcinomas, but the number of tumors per mouse was reduced by 72 percent in those treated with caffeine and by 66 percent among those treated with EGCG, compared to the controls treated only with acetone.

The treated mice also had fewer nonmalignant, sunlight-related tumors, said Conney. Compared to the control group of mice, the mice treated with caffeine had 44 percent fewer nonmalignant tumors, the EGCG group 55 percent fewer, he said.

Conney said that although both compounds were effective in lower tumor risk, caffeine has an advantage because it is chemically more stable than EGCG.

Unlike sun screen lotions, which protect against skin cancer by preventing the skin from absorbing ultraviolet rays from the sun, the caffeine's cancer protection works in the cells after exposure to the ultraviolet rays. Rays from the sun can cause genetic changes in the skin that can lead to skin cancer. Conney said caffeine apparently blocks this action by causing abnormal cells to kill themselves, a type of programed cell suicide that prevents development of abnormal growths.

"This is not a sunscreening effect," said Conney. "It is a biological effect."

He said the caffeine acts selectively, causing the abnormal cells to die but not affecting the normal cells.

Caffeine, heavily consumed in coffee, tea and some cola drinks, has been shown in other studies to prompt mental alertness in many people. Some studies have suggested caffeine aggravates symptoms of menopause or intensifies the side effects of some antibiotics. Heavy caffeine use has been linked to miscarriage. Some studies also have suggested that some people can become addicted to caffeine and can experience headaches and other symptoms when deprived of their morning coffee or cola.

Dr. Darrell Rigell, a professor of dermatology at New York University and an expert spokesman for the American Academy of Dermatology, said research like Conney's is needed badly because "skin cancer is a major problem. I hope this treatment can prove itself, because there are more skin cancers than all other cancers combined in the U.S."

He said there is a need for a "morning-after" treatment for skin cancer, a therapy that would reduce cancer risk after excessive sun exposure.

Rigell said that although hairless mice are commonly used for such research, "there is really no good animal model for skin cancer. The hairless mouse is the best of a bunch of bad choices" for testing skin cancer compounds in the laboratory.

As a result, he said, "a lot of things that work in mice cannot be extrapolated to humans."

He said other treatments that showed promise in mice have often failed when tried on humans.

Conney said the next step in studying the topical effects of caffeine will be to use the solution on people who are highly susceptible to skin cancer — people who have a precancerous condition or who already have had skin cancer.

About the Author:

JH Reynolds is a coffee enthusiast who travels around the world in search of the best beans and exotic flavors. To find out more about the exquisite art of coffee, please visit http://www.coffeekingsite.com

By: Jim Smylie

For many of us, the average morning is akin to being an extra in a zombie movie. Millions of people stumble to work each day with stiff muscles, bleary eyes, and heavy breathing, all punctuated by low, repeating moans.

“Coffeeeeee…”

Once you get that first cup of coffee, the dull-grey world explodes into brilliant color (think office cubicles housing three Bollywood musicals at once) and we become Superman. Alert! Active! Blessedly awake! Unfortunately, a few ticks of the hour hand later we’re once again the Living Dead. The chair’s pushed back, the coffee pot is hit, and the cycle repeats itself.

Way too much of a good thing?

Caffeine, though something of a wonder drug, is getting abused. Taken in moderation, particularly in things like dark chocolate or black coffee, it can have health benefits. ‘Moderation,’ however, becomes an unfamiliar concept when you’re drinking a dozen cups of coffee a day. High blood pressure, anxiety, increased risk for cardiovascular disease, and increased risk of ulcers are a few of the problems associated with overconsumption.

The problem is, we need our caffeine; two thirds of Americans simply don’t get enough sleep, according to the National Sleep Foundation. For many, coffee won’t cut it, leading to increased consumption of energy drinks like Red Bull or the charmingly-named Cocaine. And the stuff is showing up where you’d least expect it: mints, chewing gum, donuts.

But there are plenty of strategies you can use to remain energized while avoiding excessive caffeine. It takes a little more effort than buying that mocha or opening that Coke, but you’re guaranteed to feel better than ever before.

Eat breakfast.
Yes, it’s a cliché, but breakfast remains the most important part of your day. Not only will a proper meal in the A.M. (not a chocolate bar and some soda pop) energize you for hours, it’ll help you keep your weight down—the body uses nutrients less efficiently when it wakes up, meaning you’ll retain fewer unneeded calories by having that food earlier in the day.

Ideal breakfast foods include oatmeal, high-fiber cereals, veggies, and whole-wheat toast. Because they contain so much fiber, it takes you longer to process the sugars inside, meaning your body gets a slow, steady flow of energy instead of one tidal wave. One massive jolt of caffeine will pep you up, sure, but once it wears off you’re left worse than when you started.

Eat when you’re hungry.
Three square meals a day may be neater on a schedule, but it sure ain’t healthier. Don’t be afraid of snacking between meals! Doing this maintains a reasonable amount of energy all day long. As an added bonus, you may lose some weight; counterintuitive as that sounds, spreading out your caloric intake means you’re less likely to overeat during “big” meals.

Bear in mind, this does not mean you should be munching down potato chips and cookies! What you snack on is just as important as the snacking itself.

Good snacks:
Fruit is loaded with energizing fructose, as well as healthy fiber and plenty of antioxidants. An apple with some peanut butter or a cool bunch of grapes can quickly take the place of that midday candy bar, and a yogurt-based fruit smoothie makes a great replacement for your three cans of soda.

Almonds and other nuts are superb snacks as well—they’re filling, crunchy, and bursting with omega-3 (that’s the fat we actually should eat). Yogurt and other low-fat dairy foods, too, provide much needed energy along with nutrients necessary to maintain your metabolism and keep your body healthy.

Eat these foods throughout the day, never overeating (gorging yourself leads to fatigue, like when you nod off at Thanksgiving). In addition, consider foods high in iron like steak once or twice a week; iron is important for energy, too. It’s okay to drink a cup or two of coffee along with all this, but if you find yourself downing seven hugelarge cups of espresso each day: cut back. And finally, most importantly…

Sleep.
Even with new wonder-drugs like Modafinil—which can keep a person up for 40 hours straight with no side-effects—sleep experts reiterate there is no substitute for a full night’s rest. The brain needs it, the body needs it, your very soul needs it. We aren’t machines; no matter what we put into our bodies to keep them running, if we don’t have sleep to go along with it we’ll eventually pay dearly.

So next time you reach for your coffee mug, consider having some fruit instead—and get some sleep once you get home from work!

Article Source: http://www.superfeature.com

By Louanne Baelde

Are you drinking too much coffee? We seem to need it to wake up in the morning, to stay alert when we drive, and even our work breaks are now referred to as 'coffee breaks.' A sign that may indicate that we're getting a little too carried away is when we have a mug, with a picture of our favorite mug on it. But don't put your favorite cup away just yet. There's new evidence suggesting that coffee in moderation can actually be good for you!

New evidence shows that antioxidants are not only in green tea, but are also in coffee. Surprisingly, there's four times the amount of antioxidants in coffee as what there is in green tea. Of course this doesn't substitute for the amount of antioxidants that you find in fruits and vegetables. But one to two cups of coffee per day lowers your chances of having cancer and chronic diseases.

Harvard University School of Public Health shows that the risk of Type II diabetes is lower among regular coffee drinkers. Why? It boosts the liver's ability to break down sugar. Too much sugar that stays in our bodies not only causes us to gain weight, but also weakens muscle strength. And who wants saggy muscles?

Did you know that almonds lower your cholesterol and help to increase your memory? That's right, a few of those delicious nuts with coffee, and it's even more of a super memory booster! You actually have an 80% less chance of getting Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's drugs are now being developed with caffeine derivatives for this very reason.

In medicine, caffeine is used as a diuretic (to increase urine) and as a cardiac stimulant. It boosts energy and triggers alertness.

After a large cup of coffee, our muscles tighten up, our heart beats fast and our hands get cold. Coffee stimulates the brain like cocaine and heroin. That's why it's so addictive and for the same reason why most of us need it first thing in the morning, to start our day. Once you get into the coffee cycle, you can't stop. If you try, you get a wicked headache and you start squirming like a snake.

But recent studies reveal that regular coffee drinkers are less likely to contract heart disease. 'Until now, we have attributed the cardiovascular effects of coffee to caffeine, but we found non-coffee drinkers given decaffeinated coffee also display these effects,' says Roberto Corti, M.D., a cardiologist at University Hospital in Zurich. Then could there be other ingredients in coffee that are causing the 'jitters'? If there is less elevation in blood pressure, could this mean that we are increasing our tolerance to caffeine? Should hypertensive people still drink coffee?

The American Heart Association agrees that there's a lot of contradiction about caffeine and regular coffee drinkers and the link with cardiovascular disease. If you sit down and calculate how much caffeine you consume in one day, you might be surprised. But could only one or two cups of coffee be harmful for you?

According to the Journal of the American Medical Association, there is more risk for a heart attack if a regular coffee drinker carries a gene called cytochrome P450 1A2*1F. This gene metabolizes caffeine slowly. They have decided however, that more research still needs to be done before they can make this conclusion.

Dr. Florian Koppelstatter of the Medical University Innsbruck, in Austria, claims that caffeine boosts brain activity. Vanderbilt University also found coffee to increase blood flow to the brain thereby, preventing degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.

Again, maybe there are some good benefits as long as we consume this beverage in moderation. Apparently, adding an extra paper filter in your coffee machine when brewing your coffee, even if you have a plastic filter, helps to lower cholesterol and your blood pressure.

We all know that coffee sometimes prevents constipation. Nothing like that morning brew to get things moving! Some practitioners in alternative health medicine actually suggest doing coffee enemas for bowel cleansing. Myself, I prefer bottoms up to be my cup!

Are we addicted to the coffee or to the lifestyle and habit that we've grown into over time? Well at least now we know that there are some healthy benefits.

But can having too much coffee and drinking the brew too late in the day cause insomnia? Without a good night's sleep, our body can't replenish itself. Let's not forget the increased risk of osteoporosis for menopausal women. I think I'll stick to my martinis and use the coffee grounds for something else.

I heard coffee grounds make good fertilizer in the gardens because they're high in nitrogen. Use them to fertilize your evergreens, azaleas and rosebushes. Also coffee grounds mixed with orange peels placed around your plants in the garden will keep the cats away. You can even mix some carrot seeds with ground coffee when you sow and pests will stay away. Placing a small container or dish of coffee grounds in the freezer, rids your freezer of spoiled food smells. For you fishermen, coffee grounds mixed with earth will keep your worms wiggly.

Meeting new people and socializing with coffee is one of America's favorite pastimes. From espressos to café lattes or ice cappuccinos, we keep thinking of new delightful ways to enjoy our quick fix. And now with convenient drive-thru coffee shops, it's even easier to grab a mug on the go. The coffee places make fabulous meeting places for a quick chat, to play games, or to read the newspaper. Some go alone and others gather in groups. Ironically, we all go out of our way to have something that we can make fast and effortlessly at home.

A man and woman were in the kitchen having a discussion on who should brew the coffee in the morning. She suggested that he do it because he was the first to get up in the morning. 'This way you won't have to wait,' she said. He quickly replied, 'You should do it. You usually do the cooking around here.' The wife walked out of the room for a moment and reached for the Bible and opened the New Testament. She pointed to the top of the pages and showed him that indeed it said, 'Hebrews. '

So coffee lovers, as long as you drink your coffee in moderation, it doesn't seem like it will hurt you. It's apparent that it could benefit you. Studies have shown that coffee has amazing antioxidants, helps persons with bronchial asthma, increases the speed of rapid information, counteracts driver sleepiness, reduces the risk of stone formation and colon cancer, and is even a great source of potassium. Again the key word is moderation, like with everything. Too much of anything is not good.

So java junkies go ahead and drink up! Your coffee fits right in with its cousins tea and cocoa.

About the author:
Louanne welcomes you to visit http://www.Coffee.Health-Information.us for more coffee news and information and http://www.Health-Information.us for a large data base of health links.

source:www.isnare.com