There seems to be this continuing debate, is coffee helpful or harmful? As previously reported, roasted coffee beans DO contain small amounts of a chemical shown to cause cancer in lab rats when taken in large amounts. Well, the flip side of that is a new type of roasted coffee that manages to preserve the natural antioxidants in the beans that would normally be destroyed by the roasting process. The resulting beans have more antioxidants than green tea! Many people believe that antioxidants can help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease, and stroke. I haven’t tried this specially roasted coffee yet so can’t report on its quality; if you’d like to give it a try you can find it over at Caffe Sanora.
January 17th, 2006
The Times reports that research done by the United Nations has found that coffee is to blame for approximately a third of the daily intake of a cancer-causing chemical known as acrylamide. It’s the same stuff that is produced by high temperature cooking processes like frying or roasting; french fries are one common source of this. So, is it time to stop drinking coffee? Ha! Not a chance. Like anything, the key is to enjoy it in moderation. No one’s really sure just how much of a risk acrylamide is when ingested at the lower levels most people face. If you’re really concerned though, you can reduce your acrylamide intake by favoring coffee beans that are either a light city roast, or a very dark French or Italian roast, as the levels of acrylamide are highest in medium-roast cofee. Read the full story here or in the rest of this post.
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January 17th, 2006
