Caffeine for Your Health — Too Good to Be True?

That cup of joe may be good for many, but there are downsides as well

Drinking three 8-ounce cups of coffee a day can have positive health benefits, depending on the strength of the brew. — Ines Perkovic/Getty Images

En español l Picture it: 624 million cups of coffee. A day.

That's about three cups per coffee drinker in the United States, where 83 percent of adults can't imagine life without their favorite cup of java.

Add to that tea, caffeinated soft drinks and those infamousenergy drinks, and you won't be surprised to read that 90 percent of us consume caffeine in some form or another each day. Is this a bad thing? Not entirely.

Recent research has shown that coffee, in particular, may help prevent diseases like stroke and certain cancers, lower our risk of Parkinson's and dementia, and boost our concentration and memory. Partly that's because coffee beans are seeds, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) reminds us, and like all seeds, they're loaded with protective compounds.

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"Coffee is an amazingly potent collection of biologically active compounds," Walter Willett, M.D., of the Harvard School of Public Health, told the National Institutes of Health's newsletter.

Caffeine, a mild stimulant, also provides benefits: It's been linked to lower risks of Alzheimer's disease, for example. But when it comes to caffeine, there really can be too much of a good thing. Those who study caffeine's lesser-known effects point to studies that indicate it can be worrisome for people with high blood pressure, diabetes and osteoporosis. Plus, caffeine can interact poorly with some common medications, and it can worsen insomnia, anxiety and heartburn.

It would make things easier if the caffeine content were listed on food labels so you would know if you've exceeded the 300 mg level that most health experts say is a safe, moderate amount for the day — about the amount in three 8-ounce cups of coffee, depending on how strong you brew it — but so far that's not happening.

So before you turn on that coffeemaker or grab a grande cup from your favorite cafe, here are some things to keep in mind.

First, the bad news about caffeine (and coffee)

Remember: Caffeine is a drug, says Steven Meredith, a researcher in behavioral pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

While low to moderate doses are generally safe, caffeine is addictive and users can become dependent on it and find it difficult to quit or even cut back, he says. (Caffeine dependence was even named as a new mental disorder this year.) Anyone who's ever quit cold turkey knows it can trigger pounding headaches, mental fuzziness and fatigue for a couple of days until the body adjusts.

16,600 children lost parents to Ebola in Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leon – UNICEF

UNICEF says no fewer than 16,600 children are registered as having lost one or both parents, or primary care-givers to Ebola in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone so far.

It said less than three per cent of this population has had to be placed outside family or community care.

This is contained in a statement issued by UNICEF’s Regional Director for West and Central Africa, Mr Manuel Fontaine in New York on Friday.
“Since overcoming their initial fears and misconceptions about Ebola virus, families have been showing incredible support, providing care and protection for children whose parents have died.

“This shows the strength of kinship ties and the extraordinary resilience of communities at a time of great hardship’’, added the statement.
UNICEF said as of mid-January, nearly 3,600 children had lost both parents to Ebola virus in the three countries, while 16,600 were registered as having lost one or both parents.

It stated that the disease also affected primary care-givers.

It said pointed out that UNICEF was helping to identify children without parents or caregivers with the view to providing immediate care and protection to them.It said the assistance would either be through extended family members, community members or foster families.

In Guinea, for example, UNICEF said all 773 children who lost both parents have been placed with their extended families.
It added that children and the families looking after them were regularly given cash and material assistance.

Fontaine said UNICEF had helped in accessing schools for them and providing counseling to support their emotional and psychological well-being. The UNICEF said following up children who were in new families was an important focus as they remained emotionally vulnerable.

It added that unaccompanied children who may have come into physical contact with a person suffering from Ebola were provided with centre-based care while under observation for 21 days maximum incubation period.

Across the three countries, UNICEF said the total number of such children to date had been just over 250. Out of this, it said over 90 per cent of them were taken into the care of extended family members shortly after the quarantine period.
It added that UNICEF had also developed a network of Ebola survivors who have been playing an important role in supporting affected children.

It said because they had built up a level of resistance to the disease, survivors can interact with children who were under observation. UNICEF added that identifying vulnerable children and providing services to them had been one of the many challenges faced in responding to the Ebola crisis.

It quoted Fontaine as saying: “as the Ebola-affected countries head towards recovery, we should take the opportunity to improve child protection services for all vulnerable children.
“We have a chance to address other forms of vulnerability that existed before the Ebola crisis, such as child marriage, child labour, sexual violence and exploitation.”(NAN)