Expert Enumerates Health Benefits of Coffee

Expert enumerates health benefits of coffee

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Written by Akin Adewakun Thursday, 10 March 2011

A cardiologist at the Lagos State University Hospital, Professor Jane Ajuluchukwu, has described as baseless the widely-held belief that coffee has no significant benefit to the human system, adding that there are immense health benefits in this brand of beverage, if moderately taken.

Ajuluchukwu, who is the co-ordinator of Ignite, a pan-African educational project aimed at enlightening the public on the importance and relationship between coffee and health, based on scientific facts and researches, explained that the initiative was put together to unravel some mysteries surrounding coffee.
“As researchers we serve as watch dogs. Through observational studies, we have discovered some facts with which we aim to empower people with adequate knowledge on coffee, ” she said.
According to her, about 146 billion cups of coffee are consumed in the U.S each year, nearly three times more than tea, adding that coffee also serves as America’s number one source of antioxidants with average consumption of 3.1 cups per day.
Besides, she stated, science has proved that coffee is good for stimulating mental alertness, improves cognitive function, decreases the risk of developing Parkison’s and Alzhemier’s diseases, lowers the risk of liver disease and helps reduce risk of type-2 diabetes. Other benefits, she stated, include: reducing the risk of developing colon cancer and lowering the risk of cavities.
“In the developed nations, there is an amazing level of coffee consumption. But back here, the first impression about coffee is caffeine, yet there is much that coffee has to offer if consumed in moderation,” she said.
She added that despite the fact that the world talked about coffee and its benefits, the subject had not elicited such passion in Nigeria, adding that one of the roles of the academia is to expand the frontiers of knowledge and help the people to better understand their environment.
She lamented the low level of literature and facts available to Nigerians on coffee and its impact on health, adding that, “the pan-African Ignite programme is very vital as it sets to provide Nigerians with proven facts and case studies and will create mass enlightenment on coffee and its health benefits.
According to her, “we want to know their fears concerning the beverage and proffer scientific answers and leave consumers to make choices. We want to examine the pros and cons of coffee and let people know that the beverage has numerous advantages if consumers are well informed about it,” she stated