Is Coffee Healthy?

Hi and welcome to this week’s look at what’s making headlines in natural health on iHealthTube.com…

Like alcohol… coffee’s health benefits seem to change by the week… this week, there’s good news for you coffee lovers!

Research out of Canada suggests drinking coffee may help protect against both Alzheimer’s and Parkinsons disease.  The study looked at three different types of coffee… light roast, dark roast and decaffeinated dark roast.  All three produced compounds called Phenylindanes as part of the roasting process.  Both the caffeinated and decaf had the same potencies in the experiment.  The study found these compounds inhibit beta amyloid and tau from clumping.  Those are two proteins common in both Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

The author said much more study is needed before suggesting these compounds might translate into some sort of prevention or treatment.

Like last week… another potential link is being made to autism after a recent study.  The recently published study suggest that a zinc deficiency in early childhood may contribute to autism.

The link is in certain connections or ‘synapses’ between brain cells that form early in development.  Zinc helps the development of these connections and the study suggested a lack of zinc during early development might contribute to autism through these impaired synapses.  It does not suggest that supplementation is an answer… and there are no studies of autism risk and zinc supplementation.  The author also pointed out that zinc deficiency does not necessarily mean dietary deficiency… but it could also indicate absorption issues in the gut.

Finally… new research is linking adolescent obesity with a dramatic increased risk of pancreatic cancer later in life.

The study looked at almost 2 million people included in the Israeli National Cancer Registry who had a physical exam between the ages of 16 and 19 from 1967 to 2002.  The results showed obesity was linked with a 3 point 6 times higher Nepancreatic cancer risk among men and just over 4 times higher risk among women.

One expert pointed to systemic inflammation caused by obesity as a potential force behind the development of pancreatic cancer.

That’s what’s making headlines in natural health this week.  Make sure to go to iHealthTube.com and sign up for our free email newsletter so you can connected to the latest in natural health!