For most people, the health benefits of beverages like coffee and tea outweigh the risks of caffeine, according to MayoClinic.com. Both coffee and tea contain high levels of antioxidants, substances that protect you from cellular damage that may lead to cancer. To limit the side effects of too much caffeine use, including anxiety, irritability and restlessness, avoid drinking more than three cups of coffee or tea daily, MayoClinic.com recommends.
Lowered Risk of Parkinson's Disease
Caffeine and coffee consumption protects against the degenerative neurological disorder called Parkinson's disease, or PD. Researchers from the University of Lisbon in Portugal examined 26 previously published studies and concluded that the more coffee and caffeine a person consumes, the lower her risk of developing PD, according to a 2010 review published in the "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease."
Reduction in Gout
Coffee drinkers have a reduced risk of the painful inflammatory condition called gout, according to researchers from Boston University's School of Medicine and Harvard University Medical School. In the results of a 26-year study published in the August 2010 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," the study authors reported that women who drank the most coffee daily, about four 8-oz. cups, had the lowest risk of gout.
Less Risk for Cancer
Green tea, brewed from the leaves of the "Camellia sinenis" plant, may prevent or slow the growth of cancer, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Green tea contains a catechin called epigallocatechin-3-gallate, or ECGC. ECGC may inhibit the development of new blood vessels, which cancer cells need to grow. The compounds in green tea may also turn off genes in cancerous cells, causing them to destroy themselves, according to the World's Healthiest Foods website.
Research indicates that green tea prevents or slows growth of prostate, ovarian, brain, colorectal, biliary tract, lung and bladder cancer; green tea also improves the effectiveness of cancer drugs and lessens the severity of chemotherapy side effects.
Decreased Chance of Heart Disease
Drinking several cups of green tea daily significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease and death, according to Japanese researchers published in the September 2006 issue of the "Journal of the American Medical Association." In the study, women who drank five cups or more of green tea daily had a 31 percent lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, compared to women who drank a cup or less. Men who consumed five cups daily had a 22 percent lower risk of heart disease. Drinking green tea also significantly reduced the risk of dying from stroke, according to the World's Healthiest Foods.
References
- MayoClinic.com: Coffee and Health: What Does the Research Say?
- National Cancer Institute: Antioxidants and Cancer Prevention
- Journal of Alzheimer's Disease; Caffeine Exposure and the Risk of Parkinson's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies; Costa J et al.; 2010 Supplement
- American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; Coffee Consumption and Risk of Incident Gout in Women: the Nurses' Health Study; Choi HK; August 2010
- National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Green Tea
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