Health Benefits of Herbs

Coffee: Good or Bad?

Coffee has been discredited by many as bad for health. There have been lot of posts on bad effects of coffee. Now recent research has come up with lot of good effects of coffee, mainly the caffeine content. Though high dosage of caffeinated coffee is not good for health, more than 28 cups in a week can have adverse effects. Let's start with some good points in favor of coffee:

1. Coffee has been known as an energy drink for ages & that is due to caffeine present which helps in blocking an inhibitory neurotransmitter named Adenosine. This helps in other transmitters to become active which make your brain more receptive & increases functioning of the brain. It increases energy levels, memorizing capability, reaction time & general cognitive function.

2. Caffeine can improve fat burning in the cells, boosting the metabolic rate by 3-10%. Also adrenaline levels are increased due to caffeine which makes us more active & can make us ready for physical exertion. So, again this can help in losing weight & staying in shape.

3. Coffee is known as lowering Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia. Coffee drinkers have shown upto 65% lower risk of getting these diseases, also risk of Parkinson's disease can be reduced.

4. Coffee reduces the risk of stroke & risk of some types of cancer (liver and colorectal). Often coffee is associated with high blood pressure it is true but is very small & regularly drinking coffee leaves no effect on the blood pressure. Women have shown reduced risk of stroke on drinking caffeinated coffee.

5. Coffee with its huge antioxidant properties have shown reduced risk of deadly skin cancer. It has properties of signal tissue repair which helps in regulating cell re-growth increased collagen level giving a healthy looking & increased skin elasticity.

Friends these can be a good reason for drinking coffee but beware of the side effects. Do not drink too much coffee as it can lead to insomnia & if taken with some medication (anti-depressants, psychiatric drug, thyroid medication, and antibiotics) can have bad effects. Please take care & stay well. Thanks!!

Fishy Story- Rohu

Dear Friends, my topic today is a tribute to my Bong friends who love to have a piece of fish everyday. The good news is you can enjoy it without any guilt. You can happily tell others a fish a day keeps the doctor away :). Mostly all fish have a good nutrient value but Rohu being a very common fish in our daily diet. Lot of people prefer only eggs & meat over fish but technically fish thrice a week is a better option. The presence of the following nutrients make fish an awesome choice.

Rohu is a good source of high quality protein which has been valued around 80. Fish protein should be banked upon as much as possible due to low fat and low carbohydrate content. The fat present in Rohu is low & is good for health. It is rich in Omega-3 fatty acid. The fish is usually full of different kind of minerals Iron, Zinc, Iodine, Potassium, Calcium & Selenium and such kind of various minerals are very difficult to find in one source of food. Rohu is a river fish & is known to be rich in  Vitamin C, it keeps diseases like cold & cough away.

Apart from this fish & brains are correlated. It is said a fish eater has a better memorizing & analyzing skills along with fewer occasions of mood swings. Also antioxidants in fish are believed to fight cancer to a great extent.

I hope this would be an interesting short read. And hope all the fish eaters will have more reasons to enjoy it.