Coffee

Coffee is one of the most beloved beverages in the world, making it the second most traded commodity in the world (just behind crude oil). The conventional notion that drinking coffee might be detrimental to human health derives from studies carried out in the 1950s and 1960s. This research failed to account for cigarette smoking which, as was discovered later, confounded and masked coffee's benefits. Since then, and especially since the new millennium, research evidence for coffee's health benefits has mounted significantly. More and more large and long-term studies have demonstrated that coffee offers protection against type 2 diabetes, assorted cancers, and neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson's and Alzheimer's diseases. Coffee: Emerging Health Benefits and Disease Prevention is the first book to present a contemporary and comprehensive summary of the newly-understood bioactive effects of the many compounds in coffee. The breadth and depth of coverage is extensive and balanced, focusing on the following topics: coffee constituents and their bioavailability; pro- and antioxidant properties; the health benefits and disease prevention effects of coffee; and potential negative health impacts. Multiple chapters describe coffee's positive impacts on health and various diseases, including type 2 diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, cancer and cardiovascular and liver diseases. Coffee's positive effects on mood, suicide rate and cognitive performance are addressed, as are the negative health impacts of coffee on pregnancy, insulin sensitivity, dehydration, gastric irritation, anxiety, and withdrawal syndrome issues. Written by many of the top researchers in the world, this volume is a must-have reference for food professionals in academia, industry, and governmental & regulatory agencies whose work involves coffee.