Latest medical and scientific discoveries about the world of coffee.

Two cups of coffee may douse workout pain

Forgo the after-workout massage for a cup o' joe? Moderate doses of caffeine — the equivalent of two cups of coffee — can cut post-gym muscle pain, suggests a new but small study.

The findings have particular relevance for people new to exercise, since they tend to experience the most soreness.“If you can use caffeine to reduce the pain, it may make it easier to transition from that first week into a much longer exercise program,” said lead researcher Victor Maridakis of the University of Georgia. Maridakis and his colleagues studied nine female college students who were not regular caffeine and coffee drinkers didn’t exercise on a regular basis. One and two days after an exercise session that caused moderate muscle soreness, the participants took either caffeine or a placebo. Then they completed two thigh exercises, one requiring maximum muscle effort, the other sub-maximal effort. Those who consumed caffeine one hour before the maximum force test had a 48 percent reduction in pain compared with the placebo group. Students who took caffeine before the near-maximum force test showed a 26 percent reduction in soreness.

Anyone who has needed a pick-me-up knows caffeine can increase alertness. Past studies have shown it also boosts endurance, and one experiment found caffeine reduces pain during moderate-intensity cycling. The researchers suggest the caffeine likely works by blocking the body’s receptors for adenosine, a chemical released in response to inflammation.You might not want to rush and pack a thermos of coffee in your gym bag, however. For one, too much caffeine can cause jitteriness, heart palpitations and sleep disturbances in some people. Also, the results might not apply to regular caffeine users, who might be less sensitive to caffeine’s effects. Plus, the researchers only studied women, and men could respond differently. To verify the results for the general population, the study will need to be replicated with more participants and also with men. Still, the scientists said caffeine appears to give more relief than found with conventional pain and soreness relievers, such as naproxen (the active ingredient in Aleve), aspirin and ibuprofen.

“A lot of times what people use for muscle pain is aspirin or ibuprofen, but caffeine seems to work better than those drugs, at least among women whose daily caffeine consumption is low,” said Patrick O'Connor, also of the University of Georgia.

Coffee reduce breast cancer risk

The latest coffee study was conducted by Steven Narod of the University of Toronto. The study, published in the International Journal of Cancer in January, studied women with a very specific gene mutation known as BRCA1. Those women have an 80 percent risk of developing breast cancer before their 70th birthday. But according to Narod, those involved in his study, "... who drank six or more cups of coffee a day on average had about a 75-percent reduction in the risk of developing breast cancer."
The researchers examined at 40 clinics in four countries the records of 1,690 women who have the genetic mutations BRCA1 or BRCA2 and gave the women a self-administered questionnaire about coffee consumption.



Coffee and short-term memory
Scientists at the Innsbruck Medical University discovered that 100 milligrams of caffeine, the equivalent of two cups of coffee, increased activity in the part of the brain that is responsible for short-term memory, and improved performance on a test that measures memory function. "We found modulation of a distinct brain area within the working memory network was more activated under caffeine compared to the placebo condition. This is the specific brain region which would be used for short-term memory function," said study author Dr. Florian Koppelstatter, a radiology fellow at the university.



Sexual stimulation in coffee


A recent study of sexual behavior in rats suggests that coffee serves as the equivalent of female Viagra. That study was tentative at best, and looked only at rats which were not habitual coffee drinkers. But the researches don’t guarantee the same effect in woman behaviour…men, don’t celebrate!

Pregnancy

Coffee does not modify the physiological conditions of pregnancy. It does not constitute a danger to the child. However, the fetus eliminates caffeine very slowly and for the fetus, unlike the mother, the presence of caffeine becomes cumulative. It is thus recommended to limit coffee consumption during pregnancy.

The Brain

Caffeine has a vasoconstriction effect in the brain. It dilates cerebral circulation. For the same reason, an abuse of coffee results in headaches. Caffeine can lengthen the duration of vigilance, delay the appearance of tiredness, in particular during intellectual or repetitive tasks. It can strengthen the analgesic effect of aspirin and, in some cases, help prevent migraines.

The Heart

For people in good health, normal consumption of coffee (up to 5 cups a day) modifies neither the cardiovascular functions, nor the rate of heartbeat. It will not alter overall blood pressure. However, where high blood pressure and heart disease already exist, drinking coffee is usually not advised.