Grant Zalar
English 1B
1,035 Words
Essay #1
Coffee: The Buzz Behind the Beans
How do you wake up in the morning? Sure, an alarm clock probably helps,
but even after the obnoxious mechanical sound crashes into your far-away
tropical serenity like an ambulance into a wedding, my guess is that you’re
still in a state of delirium. That’s when over 110 million Americans begin
their ritual, shuffling to the coffee maker like worn down coal miners to
their punch clocks (Leduc). When I began the research for this essay, I had
the intention of writing about the detrimental effects of coffee (in the
spirit of objectivity, for I am king of coffee lovers). I thought surely I
would find a bounty of information in support of the negative rumors
pertaining to the innocent looking bean, having been told countless times
while clutching a double-Americano that I would die a slow death from colon
cancer after my teeth rot out of their skull and ulcers are bored into my
stomach membrane. You could imagine my surprise when I discovered the exact
opposite- study after study performed by doctors all over the world that
concluded the beneficial nature of humankind’s most popular psychoactive.
It seems that, according to the data collected by these experts, coffee is
in fact not the cause of various illnesses and it can actually be a
preventative! It is now my intention to be a crusader for caffeine, to
prove once and for all that coffee’s negative connotation is unjust and that
it should be located in the health food section of grocery stores. No
longer should people be ashamed to indulge in the timeless beverage, unless
they are patronizing Starbucks.
For years, people associated the coffee habit with Parkinson’s disease.
They still do today- at least those who aren’t well informed. It is true
that by drinking the average commercial coffee one’s chances of contracting
Parkinson’s disease are slightly increased, but this is only a side affect
of consuming inorganic beans. Most coffee is not grown in the United States
and farms are not subject to FDA inspection thus laws pertaining to it’s
propagation are extremely lax. Next to tobacco, coffee is the most heavily
sprayed crop that is intended for human consumption and Parkinson’s disease
is directly related to the ingestion of chemical pesticides (Mercola) . If
an apple is sprayed with harmful compounds, could you say that apples cause
Parkinson’s disease? Of course not. This correlation emphasizes the
importance of organically grown produce. In fact, “…at least six studies…
[have concluded] that people who drink coffee regularly have up to 80% lower
risks of developing Parkinson’s disease (Leitzmaan).” Indeed, a similar 30
year long study by JAMA of 8,000 Japanese-American men in Hawaii yielded
results congruent with those above. The probability of the test subjects
contracting Parkinson’s disease was minimized from 52% when drinking four
ounces of coffee per day to 16% when twenty-four ounces were consumed daily
(JAMA).
The heart of the coffee debate lies in matters of the circulatory system.
Many of us, after downing one cup too many, have experienced the drum roll
in our chests of an increased heart rate. In the past, this opening of our
internal throttle (a heart palpitation) has been seen as a precursor to
fatal arrhythmias, but this connection is not backed by any evidence
according to Walter Wilet, chairman of the Department of Nutrition at the
Harvard School of Public Health (Mcauliffe). Blood pressure is temporarily
increased in those who do not regularly partake in the procurer of perk, but
this effect is not felt by the familiar who “…build up tolerance and are
largely immune to this…” noted Donald Hensrud, Associate Professor of
Preventative Medicine and Nutrition at the Mayo Clinic College of
Medicine(Mcauliffe).
Scientists at the University of Helsinki in Finland were especially
perturbed when rumors of a link between coronary heart disease and coffee
drinkers reached them, for the Finnish consume more of the beverage on
average than any other nationality (Questions and Answers). After surveying
20,000 of their countrymen, they were relieved that their date revealed most
coronary heart disease-related deaths occurred in the non-caffeinated
subjects. Interesting enough, the latest Global Competitiveness Report
cites the 5 to 6 cup-a-day Fins as being in possession of the most
competitive economy on Earth (Brooks) as well as habits the size of South
America. Perhaps, their productivity is related to their lack of sleep.
Similar studies conducted by researchers in Finland, Sweden, and at Harvard
in the U.S. concluded that coffee drinkers are far less susceptible to type
two diabetes (Leitzmann). Elements essential to the prevention of this
disease such as potassium, magnesium, and niacin, as well as the
anti-oxidants chlorogenic acid and tocopherols are prevalent in the beloved
beverage (Leduc). During the eighteen year Harvard experiment, 120,000
people were studied; men were noted to lower their risk of contracting
diabetes by 54% and women by 30% if guzzled six or more cups each day
(Leitzmann).
Anti-oxidants are to merit for coffee’s disease-fighting properties on the
microcellular level; many forms of cancer and other illnesses are prevented
by these beneficial compounds (Mcauliffe). Joe Vinson, a chemistry
professor at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania, stated that “coffee
is by far the largest source of anti-oxidants in our diet” (Mcauliffe).
Additionally, an anti-oxidant known as trigonelline (which gives coffee its
distinctive smell) has antibacterial and anti-adhesive qualities which in
turn prevent cavities (Leduc). The painful craters in the stomach membrane
known as ulcers were once believed to be caused in part by coffee because of
its acidic nature, however new evidence points to coffee’s preventative
effect relative to the ailment. Ulcers result from the presence of a
specific bacteria (Helicobacter pylori) (Questions and Answers); The
anti-bacterial nature of trigonelline counters the microscopic nuisance.
During twenty years of research regarding the presence of coffee in our
daily lives, over 19,000 studies have been conducted to determine its
effects. “By and large, the studies show that coffee is far more beneficial
than it is harmful,” remarked Tomas DePaulis, PhD, researcher at Vanderbilt
University’s Institute for Coffee Studies (Leduc). So I say to all of you
who remain in opposition of my advantageous addiction, to all the
decaffeinated Elliot Nesses in the world, you can pry my double shot out of
my cold dead fingers-but the statistics imply I’ll outlive you.
Works Cited
1.) Brooks, David. "America, The Nation of the Future." The Press Democrat
03 February 2006: .
2.) www.jama.org. 2000. The Journal of the American Medical Association.5
Feb. 2006 <283: 2674-2679>.
3.) Leduc, Marc. "Is Coffee Good or Bad for Your Health?."
http://healingdaily.com. 2004. Healing Daily. 6 Feb. 2006 .
4.) Leitzmann, M. www.jama.org. June9, 1999. The Journal of the American
Medical Association. 5 Feb. 2006 <281: 2106-2122>.
5.) Mcauliffe, Kathleen. "Enjoy!." U.S. News 19 December 2005. 6 Feb 2006
6.) Mercola, Dr. Joseph . "Coffee: How Bad Is It Really." 10 January 2003.
6 Feb 2006 <http://www.mercola.com>.
7.) "Questions and Answers." http://www.cosic.org. The Coffee Science
Information Center. 6 Feb. 2006.