Coffee May Do More Good Than Harm
Coffee lovers, rejoice! Drinking moderate amounts of coffee may have more benefits than risks in adults, a new study has found. Researchers from Ulster University in the UK reviewed 1,277 studies from 1970 till date on coffee’s effect on human health. They found the general scientific consensus is that regular, moderate coffee drinking (defined as 3-4 cups per day) essentially has a neutral effect on health, or can be mildly beneficial. The review was used to create a list of the potential health benefits and risks of coffee consumption on total mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, metabolic health, neurological disorders, gastrointestinal conditions and other miscellaneous health outcomes. Researchers found that the potential benefits of moderate coffee drinking outweighed the risks in adult consumers for the majority of major health outcomes considered. The findings were published in the journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.
Switching offjunk food cravings
Scientists in the UK have developed a supplement that can reportedly switch off cravings for high-calorie foods, such as pizza and doughnuts, while leaving the healthy appetite unaffected. After testing the new supplement, called inulin-propionate ester, with 20 volunteers, they showed that it not only resulted in less cravings for junk food, it also made them eat smaller portions. This is a small and very early trial, so we can’t get too excited just yet. But the supplement, developed by researchers at Imperial College london, is based on a molecule produced by gut bacteria that tells the brain when you’ve eaten enough, and follows on from years of work into the feedback pathway.
Walking your way to health at work
Holding ‘walking meetings’ at work instead of conventional seated ones just once a week may increase the physical activity levels of white-collar workers by 10 minutes, a new study has found. The study suggests a possible new health promotion approach to improving the health of millions of white-collar workers who spend most of their workdays sitting on chairs. “There are limited opportunities for physical activity at work. This walking meeting pilot study provides early evidence that white-collar workers find it feasible and acceptable to convert a traditional seated meeting into a walking meeting,” said Alberto J Caban-Martinez, assistant professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Physical activity interventions that encourage walking and raise levels of physical activity at work are needed to counter the negative health effects of sedentary behaviour.”