BENEFITS

• Mild laxative and diuretic
• Stimulates alertness
• Can keep you awake when needed
• May reduce risk of diabetes

DRAWBACKS

• A high intake of cafetiere or percolated coffee is linked to an increased risk of heart disease
• Can cause migraine in susceptible individuals
• In women, an excessive intake may increase the risk of osteoporosis in later life

As well as being a rich source of caffeine, coffee also contains at least 300 other active ingredients; many are beneficial antioxidants and one, niacin, is a vitamin. Niacin is produced during the bean-roasting process and one cup of coffee provides about 1mg of the vitamin. But you would need to drink about 15 cups to obtain the adult daily requirement of niacin from this source. Any other nutritional value in the drink comes from added milk and sugar. The caffeine in coffee is a natural diuretic.

Coffee and heart disease

Some studies have found that male coffee drinkers, who drink more than six cups of coffee a day, face an increased risk of heart disease. However, this risk is associated more with the method of preparing coffee than with its caffeine content. When coffee is prepared in a cafetiere, a percolator, by the espresso method, or by adding hot water to coffee grounds and bringing to the boil, two chemicals are released which raise blood cholesterol levels and increase the risk of heart disease. These chemicals are removed when coffee is filtered through a paper, and also during the manufacture of instant coffee....