101 Foods That Could Save Your Life

Did you know … coffee is the second most traded commodity in the world, right after oil?

Coffee comes from an evergreen tree that produces red coffee “cherries”. The process starts by removing the skin of the cherry to reveal a green coffee “bean”. The coffee beans are then dried and roasted to make a brown bean.

Most coffee consumed comes from either arabica or robusta varieties of beans. Arabica coffee accounts for 70 per cent of the world’s coffee production. It has a mild flavour and is aromatic. Robusta coffee comes from South-east Asia and Brazil. It has a somewhat bitter taste and contains about fifty per cent more caffeine than Arabica.

Coffee is thought to have originated in central Ethiopia in A.D. 850 and was brought to Yemen, where it has been cultivated since A.D. 1000. Coffee was mainly used for medicinal purposes until around one thousand years ago, when people began drinking it as a hot beverage. Coffee was always popular among Middle Eastern people but it took time for the beverage’s popularity to grow in Europe. Christians first thought that coffee was evil until the Pope tried some and thought it was delicious and blessed it. This began the start of the coffeehouse culture, which soon spread from Italy to France, England and the Americas.

Coffee is grown in over fifty-three countries worldwide. These countries have in common their southern latitude; they all lie along the Equator between the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, otherwise known as the “Bean Belt”. Brazil is the largest producer of coffee, followed by Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Kenya, Indonesia, Yemen and Vietnam. Hawaii and Puerto Rico also grow and produce coffee.

Did you know … moderate intake (three six-ounce/175ml cups per day) of coffee provides the same amount of hydration as an equal amount of water? This is especially true for “seasoned” coffee drinkers.

Coffee doesn’t contain significant amounts of vitamins or minerals, yet its antioxidant properties are off the charts. It is one of the top antioxidant beverages consumed worldwide. Coffee contains phytochemicals such as chlorogenic acids, with similar antioxidant benefits to those found in fruits and vegetables that may improve glucose (sugar) metabolism. An average cup of regular coffee contains anywhere between 60 and 130mg of caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that can help with alertness and may improve athletic performance; however, too much can cause jitteriness and irritability.

Concoctions from the leaves and roots of the coffee tree have been used for fevers, colds and pneumonia. Many people believe that administering a coffee enema detoxifies the liver while cleaning the colon. Coffee does have a laxative effect on many people.

PARKINSON’S DISEASE: In a study of over one million people, caffeine consumption was associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease in men (but not in women).

HEART HEALTH: Though coffee consumption has been associated with hypertension and elevated homocysteine, one study that followed 41,836 postmenopausal women for fifteen years showed that coffee consumption reduced the risk of cardiovascular disease and other inflammatory conditions.

LIVER PROTECTOR: In a study of more than 125,000 people, one cup of coffee per day cut the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 20 per cent. Four cups per day reduced the risk by 80 per cent!

MEMORY LOSS: A study done on elderly men showed that those who drank three cups of coffee per day had less memory loss than those who did not. In another study observing an elderly population, University of Arizona researchers found that decaffeinated-coffee drinkers had a decline in memory performance as the day wore on but this was not the case with caffeinated-coffee drinkers.

TYPE 2 DIABETES: An eleven-year study with women found that those who consumed coffee (especially decaffeinated) had less risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A review of fifteen studies on coffee and type 2 diabetes, published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that people who regularly drank coffee were at lower risk.

BREAST CANCER: Human breast cancer cells responded positively to a treatment with caffeic acid and chlorogenic acid from coffee.

• To select the best-tasting coffee beans, make sure they are freshly roasted and ground. The beans should be fragrant and free of any cracks.

• The darker the roast, the stronger and more bitter the flavour.

• Troubled by stomach pain when drinking coffee? Phenols, not phenolic acids, may be responsible. Reduced-acid coffees are now available.

• Keep coffee in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Refrigerate ground coffee for storage of longer than a week but don’t freeze coffee as it causes moisture to accumulate and unwanted odours can be absorbed.

• Grind coffee beans just before using. Finer grinds brew faster.

• For strong coffee, use two tablespoons of coffee for every six ounces/175ml of water.

• Using cold water will help maximize the flavour of the ground coffee beans.

• Run your coffee maker with a mixture of one part vinegar and one part water a few times each month. This eliminates buildup of oils that have become oxidized and can produce a bitter taste in your coffee.

• Use strong black coffee as an ingredient in cakes and other desserts for extra flavour.

• Leftover coffee grinds can be used in a marinade for meats.