I am sure you’ve heard all about this before. I wouldn’t be surprised if coffee companies start producing TV commercials promoting the health benefits of coffee because of antioxidants – they probably have! In any case, how true is this? Is coffee really good for our health because of the amount of antioxidants it contains?
There have been different studies about this matter but here is one done by Joe A. Vinson, a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton, Pennsylvania. According to his study:
“The average adult consumes 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest competitor was tea at 294 milligrams. Rounding out the top five sources were bananas, 76 milligrams; dry beans, 72 milligrams; and corn, 48 milligrams. According to the Agriculture Department, the typical adult American drinks 1.64 cups of coffee daily.”
What’s this again – in English, please? Coffee does contain a high amount of antioxidants. The question that remains is whether the antioxidants are enough to offset some of the possible negative effects of coffee.
Don’t get me wrong – I can’t survive without coffee. But I also know that too much coffee (I don’t want to admit that there is something such as too much coffee, really) can induce hyperacidity, among other things. Some people feel jittery. Others (naturally) have a hard time falling asleep. The effects are different with different people.
I am no scientist but at this point, if they say coffee has antioxidants and that it can be good for you, I take it as a good thing. Whether or not it has antioxidants, I still love this drink, don’t you?
Originally posted on December 2, 2007 @ 3:02 pm