Coffee
& Wellness
Coffee is a significant source of antioxidants
in the Filipino diet
August 1, 2006 • The Philippine
Star
 The
benefits on antioxidant-rich diet are well documented and
most people agree that, a healthy, well balanced diet is the
first line of defense against a host of degenerative diseases.
But what may surprise some people is that among the wide
variety of antioxidant-rich foods, coffee has been found to
be the one most significant sources of antioxidants in many
people's diet.
For instance, a Norwegian study (Svilaas 2004) found that
coffee played a major role as an antioxidant intake source
of the diet of Norwegians. Another study, conducted in the
United States by University of Scranton professor Dr. Joe
Vinson, revealed that "Americans get more of their antioxidants
from coffee than from any other dietary source."
To provide some perspective on these findings, Nestle nutrition
champion Aleli Elizabeth Gana suggests first understanding
how antioxidants work and putting it in the context of the
Filipino diet.
"To understand the role of antioxidants in our diet,
it is important to start with the basics," says Gana.
According to Gana, the role of antioxidants is to interact
with these free radicals and break the destructive chain reaction
that damages tissues. "Our bodies produce antioxidants
on their own, but we need to obtain additional antioxidants
from the foods we eat," she continues.
Chlorogenic acid, a combination of caffeic and quinic acids,
is a polyphenol found abundantly in coffee and represents
a substantial part of coffee antioxidants.
There is evidence to suggest that these antioxidants in coffee
help prevent, postpone or limit certain degenerative diseases
of aging such as cardiovascular disease and cancer, as well
as Type 2 diabetes. These antioxidants are present in both
decaffeinated and caffeinated coffee.
She suggests that since most antioxidant-rich sources are
derived from plants (phytochemicals) and different antioxidants
tend to be "color-coded," the easiest way to make
sure you get enough antioxidants in your diet is to take five
servings of different colored fruits and vegetables daily.
She also clarifies that although some important antioxidants
like vitamins C and E are part of a nutritious diet, other
antioxidant substances like soya beans, coffee and red wine
have no known nutritional function but are nonetheless significant
sources of beneficial antioxidants.
Therefore, the key to enhancing your protection from the
harmful free radicals, according to Gana, is an ample intake
of dietary antioxidants from a variety of sources.
Although the Filipino culinary tradition provides a wealth
of antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables, Gana believes that
many Filipinos are not getting enough antioxidants in their
diet because, all too often, they are overly reliant on fast
foods.
"Homecooked meals with vegetables and fruits like maluggay,
alugbati, ampalaya, bayabas, mangga and papaya are part
of our culinary tradition, but these days, there's a tendency
to eat larger quantities of fried meats and poultry than is
strictly advisable," she observes.
This is where coffee assumes a significant role in the delivery
of antioxidants to our diet. Because it is so easily accessible
and extremely convenient, coffee provides many of us with
high amounts of antioxidants which can have a tremendous impact
on our well-being and health, especially if we are not getting
enough antioxidants from other sources.
"Coffee has one of the highest concentrations of antioxidants
among foods. This means that you don't have to consume vast
quantities of it to receive sufficient amounts of antioxidants.
A reasonable amount of anywhere from one to four cups a day
can already have benefits," explains Gana.
She points out, "No one is suggesting that you should
gel all your antioxidants exclusively from coffee. That would
be inadvisable from a nutritional point of view. The idea
is to load up on variety of antioxidants from different sources." |
