Effects of coffee
Is it true that drinking more coffee and tea lowers your risk of death? (Effects of coffee)
Can you lower your blood pressure by ten points by practising breathing exercises at home?
Could doing 10 push-ups per day reduce your risk of heart attack and stroke?
The answer to all of these questions is “Yes!”. We now know this as a result of exciting research studies that you should be aware of.
As the holiday season progresses, many of us will struggle to maintain a healthy work-life balance in December, resulting in a slew of New Year’s Resolutions for January 2023.(Effects of coffee) These studies provide some simple methods for improving your health. Here are some things to keep in mind.
Coffee and tea: Regular consumption of both can save your life
Numerous studies have already demonstrated coffee’s health benefits. Coffee drinkers on a regular basis have a:
- Risk of coronary artery disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease is reduced.
- There is a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease.
- Lower risk of colon cancer
Not to be outdone, the health benefits of drinking tea on a daily basis have been extensively researched. But what if you combine your coffee and tea consumption? Have the benefits been increased?
This question was addressed in a large study that tracked half a million people in the United Kingdom using a self-reported questionnaire. Researchers discovered that those who drank 2-4 cups of tea and 1-2 cups of coffee daily had a 22% lower risk of dying than those who drank neither tea nor coffee.
The reason for this is well understood. Caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and other bioactive compounds found in coffee and tea have been shown to protect against chronic disease. These antioxidants reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure, manage blood sugar levels, and improve endothelial function, which is the primary cause of many chronic diseases such as coronary artery disease, hypertension, and diabetes.
For those who enjoy their morning cup of coffee, consider alternating it with a cup of tea after dinner. For those who enjoy tea, aim for an afternoon cup of coffee to help you get through the midday slump.
Exercise your lungs to help lower your blood pressure
High blood pressure is a significant risk factor for heart disease and stroke. This is concerning because more patients than ever before are being diagnosed with hypertension.
Along with the recommended daily exercise and sodium reduction, patients are frequently started on one or more anti-hypertensive medications. Blood pressure is typically reduced about 9mmHg with a single standard medication. This is significant because multiple research studies show that lowering blood pressure by 9mmHg reduces the risk of stroke by 35% and heart disease by 25%, respectively. A combination of medications lowers that risk even more.(Effects of coffee)
But exciting new research points to an additional option for reducing blood pressure; one that can be done anywhere and without the risk of side effects.
Work on your lungs. That’s correct. A 6-week course of high-resistance inspiratory muscle strength training (IMST) reduced systolic blood pressure by 9mmHg, similar to a single anti-hypertensive medication, according to a retrospective analysis published in The Journal of Applied Physiology of 128 patients across five research trials.(Effects of coffee)
Participants in the study did 30 deep breathing exercises per day, which took about 5 minutes, using a hand-held machine similar to an inhaler. A deep, resisted breath engages our diaphragm and other breathing muscles. This causes the release of nitric oxide, which lowers blood pressure.
One thing to keep in mind: these breathing exercises should not be used in place of your blood pressure medication. Consider it as another tool in your arsenal for lowering your risk of heart disease and stroke.
The advantage of the tried-and-true push-up
Another study worth noting comes from Harvard University and was published in JAMA Open Network in 2019. It followed 1,562 active firefighters for ten years. Those who could do 40 pushups had a 96% lower risk of heart disease than those who could only do ten.
Because the study was conducted on middle-aged occupationally fit men, it is difficult to generalise the findings to women or a less active general population.
However, it does demonstrate the advantages of physical fitness.
An intriguing take-home message from this study is that primary care physicians should consider using a push-up test to assess cardiovascular health rather than something like BMI. For years, scientists have questioned the utility of using BMI in primary patient assessments.
BMI is a proxy for body fat that actually measures excess weight. However, it makes no distinction between excess fat and excess muscle or bone mass.
well written keep it up