An
article in the Daily Mail today opens with the headline
This brew's a lifesaver: A coffee a day ‘cuts stroke risk by 25%’
While the fifth sentence states: Scientists stress they have yet to prove it reduces stroke risk.
Red Bull have been trading on a similar marketing strategy for years, all while their research department is working feverishly to fulfill the claims made. I don't doubt one day it shall give me wings.
Unfortunately because there is such an abundance of conflicting research in this area, they are still unable to pin down exactly what compounds in the coffee bean are beneficical and during what stage of processing they occur.
There is evidence on two sides of the antioxidant argument: roasted vs unroasted. Coming from a 'natural' background (not to be confused with feral) it is always nice to believe that unprocessed, raw and straight from the earth will give you the best nutritional profile. However there is another school of thought that says the roasting process actually changes and increases the antioxidant profile of the coffee bean and that it is these compounds that are benefical.
These antioxidants are called maillard reaction products (MRP's) which is science speak for what you end up with when the coffee is finished roasting. What the geeks in white coats can't figure out is how much roasting the coffee should undertake to obtain the maximum numbers of MRP derived antioxidants.
One study showed that chlorogenic acid derivatives were only present in roasted coffee with the most active being 5-O-caffeoilquinic acid. Again there is little research going on at the moment to discover the beneficial effects of these compounds.
Ok those in the back can wake up again now.
When looking at coffee from a health point of view, I assess statements like the one leading the Mail article with great scepticism. Clearly it is an area that needs more money thrown at it, and not from the likes of Nescafé. However nowhere is mentioned the health implications of dairy, sugar and caffeine intake for certain individuals, not to mention the severe financial dangers associated with coffee house frequenting.
The flip side of the argument for many will be that roasted coffee contains several identified carcinogens that raw coffee won't including Acrylamide. Now before you start throwing rocks at your local barista, there is again very conflicting evidence about this chemical and as such the World Health Organisation has set up a network to collect research on the subject.
Links mentioned:
No comments:
Post a Comment