Bring me a steak! Iron deficiency without anaemia.

Welcome everyone to the new year! I do apologise for my lack of content over the last few months but due to a massively hectic university schedule I had to prioritise and concentrate on my studies, but with most of my assignments out of the way for a short while I have taken the opportunity to write a few pieces of interest and hopefully get back to regular posting.

So, no doubt you were all well fed over the Christmas break, indulging in things we shouldn't speak of (myself included). Between work do's, family gatherings, Christmas day, Boxing day we have been very well nourished and im sure plenty of us had out fair share of protein!

PIC

I doubt any of us were deficient in the majority of nutrients but throughout the year we cannot ignore that our diets change back to a mundane, simple, quick-as-you-can regime, often leaning towards the handiest option. This leads to a variety of deficiencies depending on the individual and the foods consumed. Over the next couple of weeks we are going to look at a few different deficiencies, their common symptoms, long-term effects and how to treat them.

Our first in this mini-series is Iron

One of the most commonly recognised conditions in the developed and developing world is anaemia. Although this is not a disease in its own right but rather a plethera of symptoms and markers. It is officially diagnosed once an individuals haemoglobin count falls below 12g/dl for women and 13g/dl for men. Haemoglobin is the iron-based protein that carries oxygen to within the blood, all around your body.

Symptoms of anaemia can vary from person to person but those most commonly recorded are:

• Pale skin
• Shortness of breath
• Weakness
• Fatigue
• Dizziness
• Increased heart rate

"But we know all this" you shout at the screen, assuming I've just copied an information leaflet from the local Doctors practice. Anaemia itself, yes is quite a well-known condition that most individuals know how treat and prevent. Iron deficiency without anaemia however may be totally new to some of you and may actually be significantly effecting your life!

It comes as no surprise that within the nutrition world you may notice that everyone is different. Every single one of us is different to the next one and so is the inner workings of the wonder that is our body. As our iron intake decreases gradually we may develop anaemia, but as stated above this happens when haemoglobin falls below a certain level. But what happens during that fall, you can hardly assumed that the symptoms come over us all of a sudden with a huge BANG! No, certainly not. Instead anaemia creeps up on us, with very subtle symptoms you may not associate with your diet.

Iron deficiency is a much more common condition with many suffered undiagnosed or misdiagnosed which is logically understandable. You, as an athlete or recurrent exerciser, may ingest an adequate amount of iron to withstand teh symptoms of anaemia but not necessarily iron deficiency. 

For example:

1. Have you ever had a day where you don't feel tired or weak but still aren't performing as well as you usually do?
2. Do you ever feel mentally, that you cant push yourself or you suddenly snap due to a terrible performance and lose yourself down a wormhole of poor performance followed unjustifiably harsh criticism.
3. Do you ever say to yourself "ah i'll finish five minutes earlier today," or you may just not be able to physically cope fulfilling a full hour of exercise.

At the time you may not associate these with a lack of iron in your body but they are signs and symptoms of your body not having the optimum stores of iron that it needs. It can be difficult to notice, and rightfully so! Your 55 minutes of training may have been just as taxing as compared to a normal day where you have performed 60 minutes. And sure, whats 5 minutes in the grand scheme o things. 

Wrong!

Its in the final stretch where we are pushing ourselves. Yeah sure you might not find a reduction in speed or strength or power but you'r not going to fulfill your potential. Fulfilling optimum iron stores can prevent such things from occurring. 

The mental state of an athletes mind is a sensitive one, and those who are amateurs, regular exercisers or just trying to lose a few stone before summer know all to well the struggles that go on inside your head when you're not allowed to eat the food you do so desire. Similar mental afflictions can occur when iron deficiency is in place. And again we usually wont associate such symptoms with iron until its too late and we suddenly have full blown anaemia. 

Ensuring you eat enough!

The RDA intake for men is 8mg/day vs. 18mg/day for women. It is a well known fact that women require more iron to replace that which is lost during the menstrual cycle. The upper limit that should not provide any adverse effects in both men and women is 45mg. So we can see there is a lot of wiggle room here. 

The exercising individual will always require an increased amount of iron compared to non-exercising individuals. This is based upon a number of principles:

• Footstrike Haemolysis: A breakdown of red bloodcells causes a release and excretion of iron out of the body within athletes - particularly endurance athletes.
• Increased demand on energy production of which iron is heavily involved, especially within the Electron Transport Chain.
• Mental stressors involved in competition and heavy training schedules.

So what are the best sources of iron (I'm sure you know of red meat, but there are more!) :

• Non-Haem based Iron:

Mushrooms

Grains

Peaches

Coconut

Asparagus

Kale

• Haem-Based Iron:

Meat & Poultry

We have an abundance of sources to chose from when it comes to iron. A varied choice is often the best option. Remember too that the examples listed above are just some of the best sources, others do exist.

Signing out,

E.

All About that Bass! '

Hey guys,

So after a long eventful summer and Masters started two weeks ago I have finally had the time to sit down and write a  new piece. With the hope to be posting regularly again.

Summer is a happy-go-lucky time; festivals, holidays, nights out with friends and we always always have that summer anthem to take with us into winter. This year it was "All about that Bass" by Meghan Trainor. Shot to fame by its take home message of "loving your curves," "it doesn't matter what size you are," etc. etc.

Take a look yourself!

Here's the thing. I don't agree with the song at all! I can't! Which is annoying because it's seriously catchy (He says immediately questioning his masculinity)! But bear with me on this, I have taken much thought before writing this post as I am aware talking about women and weight/size is thin ice material.

And for me it's the tip of the iceberg when it comes to political correctness!

I honestly do get the attempt of the song writer when it's making these statements. I really do but their is a fine line when it comes to this kind of thing.

Before I go any further I want to make the following statements!

1. NO ONE SHOULD BE MADE TO FEEL INADEQUATE ABOUT THEIR SIZE/SHAPE!
2. NO ONE SHOULD BE BULLIED, MADE FUN OF OR ABUSED ABOUT THEIR SIZE/SHAPE!
3. JUST BECAUSE A PERSON IS OBESE DOESN'T MAKING THEM LESS OF A HUMAN!
4. IF SOMEONE IS OBESE IT DOESN'T MEAN YOU DONT INCLUDE THEM, INVITE THEM OR TALK TO THEM!
5. IF SOMEONE HAS EXTRA CURVES OR A BIG BUTT YOU DONT LAUGH AND POINT!

So over the past decade there has been a massive move toward political correctness, which I in part do agree with. But it has gotten to the stage were you literally do have to think before you speak or do, before you speak, or do! I think I can actually see society slowing down in front of me because people are stopping to think before they say anything!

"Hmm is it: 'I like your blonde hair, or, I like your fair hair,
or, I like you light hair, or, I like your hair....etc.

But what does this do with health & fitness?

Back to the song again.

The song is correct in principle but going about it's message entirely the wrong way. And we see it everywhere! We can't have generic mannequins now! We have plus sized mannequins. We don't have models anymore because they've been replaced by plus-sized models. We can't say someone is overweight or obese or fat or big or whatever the current PC term is.

It is an objective measure. If someone is has blonde hair, they are blonde. If someone is 6 foot 6 inches, they are tall (compared to the average.) If someone is 22 stone, they are very much obese. That is just how it is. 

In the latter stages of this decade of political correctness we have seen a massive push for the whole:

"love your curves"

"you go gurrrll"

or as the song says "go tell them skinny bitches that"

Hmm bit two faced there I think on that last one?

NOW LOOK BACK AT THE  STATEMENTS I MADE EARLIER! JUST REMIND YOURSELVES I SAID THAT AND I MEANT IT!

My annoyance is that these statements whilst giving out a positive message on one hand, is stabbing you in the back on the other!

These statements we see on shows like loose women and magazines and songs like "I love Bass" are standing up against fakeness and bully's which yes I am 100% behind!

BUT!!

They are advocating that it's ok, or, amazing, or even healthy to be a size 20 or size XXL. In fact they encourage you to embrace your curves, do nothing at all about them. Or as the song says again "don't worry about your size."

But we should worry!

In the EU 400,000 people have died in the last year because of the DIRECT link to obesity. This is not including the secondary link to obesity for diseases such as: diabetes, artherosclerosis, asthma. If we included all these, that 400, 000 would be in the millions, if not, 10's of millions. 

Is it ok now to be the size you are? 

The majority of us have gotten to the size we are through no fault but our own. We eat what we like, when we like. The fast paced, but equally lazy society we live is, is partly to blame for this, but the kebab shop doesn't physically rob you of your money then force feed you the food they have given you!

Instead what we should be doing is facing life with a real-world mentality. We need to address the problem. What we are doing now is asking the problem if it wants wallpaper or paint on the walls of its bedroom because its moving in permanently with you! 

We need to address the problem. That's what the professionals are for. Go and see a personal trainer or join a walking club. Don't have takeaways twice a week, read a nutritious recipe book and you'll find an abundance of healthy recipes.

We have to take responsibility for ourselves.

I finish this post by reinforcing the 5 statements above. Whether a person is a size 8 or a size 18 they are still a human being with feelings and a real life and they should be treated with the respect they deserve and no different from anyone else.

If you are obese don't hide behind statements made by songs like this. If you think there is a problem, talk to someone you can trust will give you an  honest answer, like a personal trainer or your doctor.

Address the problem now before its too late!

Thanks for reading!

Ethan

The Starvation Response

No one should ever eat like this....

Your body works like a factory, with many thousands of workers and departments all using different resources and producing many different products. Conventionally this factory (your body) runs on energy. Energy is a vital substance delivered everyday and without it, the factory could not run at an optimum level.

Your body...

Let's say for example the factory loses half of it's contracted energy. Production immediately will go down, customers lose faith with the company, workers become disgruntled and agitated. Work ethic and incentive collapses. Sure some customers get their ordered products but they're sub-optimal. Some areas of the factory have to shut and some people subsequently lose their jobs.

This is exactly what happens with us when we decide to drastically cut our food intake.

But...who can blame us. We got the size we are by overindulging in foods only ever meant for a once in a blue-moon treat. Logically, anyone would assume that to lose the same weight again, you would simply not eat as much? Oh if only it was so simple!!

If we turn back to our factory analogy; energy doesn't enter into the factory  and come out the other end as a product without undergoing other processes. In the same way when we take food into our bodies we don't immediately undergo the desired movement. Food undergoes a million different processes before the subsequent energy reaches the final goal. If we compare to the factory again and immediately cut our food intake in half and expect ourselves to perform at the same level. Yeah right! Like that'll happen. Instead, like the factory, certain parts of your body shut down, your can't perform to the same standard. At this stage you start to lose a few pounds and everything is going great!!

As usually in this industry people generally have unrealistic goals in that they want to 5 stone, have a six pack, a perfect ass and 0% bodyfat. So when they drastically cut out food they in some instances can lose 7lbs, maybe even a stone within a month...then....BANG. They hit a plateau! No more weight comes off. They become annoyed with themselves, depress themselves with negative thoughts and give up of leading a healthy lifestyle.

But why does this happen? 

To the factory....!

As we said earlier, if energy supplies are halved, the factory performs at a sub-optimal level (like us). But each time some energy is delivered it's stored specially so that it can be used when it's most important. 

This happens with our bodies as well. Our body thinks to itself "oh no i'm getting barely any food at the minute, look how poorly i'm performing." It then begins a procedure called the starvation response. Any food that touches your lips within this period is prioritised to head towards your fat stores! This is to enable your body to help spread out the energy consumed over a longer period. Your body will remain in this state for as long as you continue this 'sparrow-eating.' The ironic thing about eating like this is that most people end up in the long run putting on even more weight than usual as their body's metabolism has slowed down so much. In actual fact, some individuals who diet like this over many years can actually destroy their metabolism beyond repair. 

Eating like a sparrow if for sparrows!!

So in total an individual maybe loses 7-14lbs by dieting like this, they reach their goal for the desired event (usually a wedding, formal etc.) afterwards they eat as normal and put on 7-14lbs plus more! Restricting calories should never be your first step in trying to lose weight. Many, many other steps come before this should ever be considered. 

If anything is removed from someones diet, something healthy should immediately replace it.

Thanks for reading guys!

Ethan

Why is bread so addictive?

Everyone, and I mean everyone who has ever tried to limit or cut carbs from their diet has screamed this at the bread bin in the kitchen! But who can blame us! Who doesn't love a nice crusty loaf cut into beautifully thick slices followed by the wonder of ingredients you can place in between these two tasty components and the application of an equally addictive sauce.

Pure Bliss...

The "School Lunch Box Survey: 2004" took data on the content of school lunch boxes UK wide. They found that 69% contained a white bread sandwich. It's the naturally progression of life. You drink breast milk, move onto baby food followed by your first sandwich. Then for the next 11 years you probably had at least one per day. But lunch time isn't the only time bread makes an appearance. It's eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner, supper and snacks. 

So what?! It's only bread! I'll just eat something else! It can't be that hard! 

These are usually statement we tell ourselves when we set ourselves the challenge of cutting out bread. But within days, even hours sometimes, we experience varying degrees of:

• Fatigue
• Hunger
• Mood swings
• Decreased performance at work or home
• Depression

But why? 

Why? Why?!WHY!!!

If everyday since your were; lets say 4 years old someone injected you with heroin but one day when your 30 something and decide you want to be healthy, live an active lifestyle and get into shape. You need to stop using heroin and live drug free. To live drug free you decide to just destroy all your stash and never go near heroin ever again. Many of us would hazard the obvious guess that it's not so simple.

For a brief moment this addict lives in a pure utopia of bliss!

But what does this have to do with bread? Heroin is a derivative of opium, the same stuff used to make morphine. 

Bread is sourced from the very popular grain called wheat. Wheat is subsequently made up of many components but most importantly it contains gluten. Now, I can hear you thinking; "This guy isn't going to try and tell us wheat is bad for us?" Well you'd be wrong, but that is for another blog. 

Zioudrou et al. (1979), Teschemacher, (2003) and Fanciulli et al. (2005), plus many more studies have found that the exposure of gluten to a diet causes direct stimulation of morphine receptors within the brain. Lets swing back to the heroin addict, heroin stimulates the exact same morphine receptors. You must remember however that each of us have been designed totally unique and so to one person a simple slice of bread can be their daily fix, for others who have a lower tolerance and a well established bread addiction a larger dose of bread is required to satisfy these strange desires!

What am I saying? Basically we're all heroin addicts. And I'm not joking. To expect someone to just give up bread after eating it for decades is as ludicrous as expecting a heroin addict to give up using after decades. That's why so many of us fail to keep away from breads. We give in so easily. To enable us to give up bread/wheat we need to gradually reduce our exposure, switching to wholegrain is the first step definitely not the end goal. Wholegrain bread still contains gluten and so therefore addictive but it's a stepping stone. Gradually ween yourself down and simultaneously replace with a wheat-free source of carbohydrates: for example: potatoes, rice or even gluten free breads.

Soon the desire to devour a ham sandwich will be forever a distant memory and you will be on the road towards a healthy lifestyle.

Stay tuned to discover why wheat is so bad for you besides it's addictive qualities!

Thanks for reading,

Ethan

Learning From Each Other.

So folks this week i found out I'm successfully graduating with a 2:1 BSc Hons Degree in Physiotherapy, which i am over the moon about! 

People have been congratulating me all week, praising me for for hard work and wishing me good luck for the future. But as I have officially finished the last stage of formal education I have really started to reflect on the past couple of years, especially regarding my educational and professional and professional life. 

Yes I have graduated with (what society would dictate) a decent degree level but can I really take the credit!? In short; I would say the majority of my progression has been down to the time given and the caring attitude from my peers, colleagues, friends and family. Yes they maybe didn't put pen to paper or strip off in class to do countless physio assessments! But, they  carried me through all the difficult parts, and, nurtured what little knowledge I had, developed it, and fined tuned it.

I've met a lot of different people in the last few years, many of whom I will never forget because they took their own time ( and sometimes money) and they decided they would use these two valuable resources many of us hold dear, to help me become better at being....well, me! NOT because they thought I was some prodigy, genius, on the road to discovering a cure to cancer or how to turn water into fuel, but simply because of the kindness in their own hearts to help someone who was finding it tough. And we all know life is tough, no matter what your doing whether its: Uni, work, socially etc.  

On my last placement during of University, each week some of my colleagues took 1 - 2 hours out of their own time to teach me certain aspects I was struggling with. In fact, during these 1 -2 hours per week I often learnt more than the countless lectures i attended in University. Now this doesn't mean that lectures are in no way helpful, they definitely are but It allowed me to improve myself as a Physiotherapist and wherein the situation where lets say these kind individuals didn't take this time to talk to me, I may have been totally lost during the final stages of my Uni career.

As you all know I'm also heavily involved in the world of fitness, nutrition etc. Although i say i'm heavily involved, there is a wealth of knowledge for me to develop. I have had the amazing opportunity to question various trainers and nutritionists to 'pick their brains,' ask them questions and for their opinions! Anyone I contacted, were more than helpful, answering any question I put to them. This again does not reflect on me, as i'm sure these individuals have answered the same question time and time again. The fact is, they again, took the time out of their own schedule to help another individual.

So what am I saying? 

Yeah, certainly go get the qualifications, learn the ropes, the basics. But while you're doing that, I want you all to go and talk to others, learn from them, their experiences, ups and downs. Question them on aspects you're struggling with and don't be afraid, they will have experienced the struggle on the way as well. 

BUT....

In 10 years time when YOU are the expert, and someone wants to learn from you....do them the kindness that others showed you early in your career.

So, as I'm about to graduate in a couple of weeks I just want to thank all those who have supported me as I am about to start into step into the big bad world of employment, jobs, finance and continual professional development. Special thanks to: my girlfriend, parents, andrew and james (two of my tutors), all the physios at Ballymena Outpatients, friends (especially Reuben, Karl, Gareth: for keeping me sane), all the staff at Style n Sport and Creative Gardens, everyone who has ever taken the time to talk to me....

Any success I may have later in life, will come majorly from these people. Thank You!

Help Each Other!

Thank for reading!

Ethan

Lose Fat in just 6 weeks........

Fat Burners.....

Want to get ripped in just 6 weeks? Rock hard abs with the crunches! Burn your fat off in days! The secret pill that's putting personal trainers out of business!

Any of the above statements sound familiar?

Often seen on the sidebars of webpages or crammed into advertising pages in health and fitness magazines, such claims are often accompanied by ludacris before and after pictures.

The above image can display some of the more ridiculous images, but below are the all too familar advertisements often seen in magazines:

Beautiful, minimally dressed woman on the front packet, if she takes them maybe I'll look like her?

Green tea is meant to be really good for you, a super concentrated dose is bound to be even better!

 I WANNA BE A RIPPED FREAK!

Anything with 'grenade' in the name must be really aggressive against fat!

And so on.....

As i sit and read these claims on various supplement websites, the same echoes around my head....

"Where is the evidence?!"

What you most likely didn't know is that these pills are not classed as pills, according to many governments around the world (particularly the USA), these pills are classed as foods and so are not regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration).

Because of this precise fact, these companies that create and make such claims, do not have to provide evidence. Interestingly when evidence has been provided, who do you think has funded the research? Thats right, the same company that created the product! For some reason I think there may be an issue of bias within these studies??

Without sound evidence, how can anyone continually fall victim to the exaggerated, over-sexualised, impossible and down right lies that these people portray to be gospel truth! For people whose job involves a lot of critiquing, it is easy to immediately stop the supplement salesman in his path and demand some evidence. On the other hand, the majority of the general population has no time to critique or research supplements. They want results fast to keep in line with their busy work-horse lifestyle and if a new pill claims to drop lbs of fat in just 2 weeks without going to the gym they will literally through money at them! In fact, 33.9% of people who have attempted weight loss, have admitted to using a 'fat-loss pill' with the highest prevalence in women and those on low incomes (Pillitteri et al. 2008).

These bold claims and a chance to save even more time by not going to the gym is incredibly enticing!

In years gone by weight loss pills began as typical one ingredient powders or herbs etc. making just the simple claim of weight loss. Nowadays we face the highly concentrated doses of various powders herbs, chemicals that have been broken down, reshaped and given funny names that none of us can pronounce never mind understand what the do. To aim to keep this article as simple as possible, below we have listed the most common of fat burner ingredients:

• Caffeine
• Green Tea Extract
• Yohimbine
• CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid)
• Raspberry Ketones
• Pyruvate

Caffeine:

When we refer to caffeine here, we are not referring to a simple cup of hot rich Arabica beans, freshly grounded and filtered in the morning. Instead we are referring to synthetic, lab-created powders lace with many different chemicals from the manufacturing process. That being said not all fat burners use such poor quality caffeine, but many do. Caffeine is the most common of all fat burner ingredients and is available in many different forms, foods, pills, liquids. It has long been claimed to increase fat metabolism and fight the good fight in our battle with excess fat. Thankfully it is such a heavily researched substance, that many papers are available for review. 

The consumption of this substance firstly causes a massive surge of activity of the neurons within the brain, which leads to the activation of the pituitary gland and subsequently a release of adrenaline (Bassini-Cameron et al. 2007). This increase in adrenaline is then the direct cause of an increase in an individuals heart rate and blood pressure (British Heart Foundation 2012). Synergistically this has been linked to an increased fat oxidation.

A study by Leijten et al. (1984) has suggested that caffeine also causes an increase in the availability of fat as a fuel source by delaying the breakdown of cyclic AMP. These findings have been shown to increase further when said individual takes part in low intensity exercise (Graham et al. 2008).

A study by Acheson et al. (1980) found that caffeine was shown to provide short-term thermogenic effects on the body.

Theses effects however seem to occur only in the very short term and in no way can allow for a sustainable and permanent weight loss regime, as pointed out by Westerterp-Platenga et al. (2005). Ironiclly it has also been found in repeated studies that an increase in metabolism and fat oxidation deminishes when the individual has a higher body fat percentage (Leblanc 1985).

Green Tea

Along with increased fat oxidation, metabolism and decreased fat percentages, green tea also boasts a lowering of LDL cholesterol, increase of HDL cholesterol and increasing insulin sensitvity, reversing the adverse effects of many obese individuals diets. 

Meng et al (2003) notably stated the cause of increase fat metabolism with the consumption of green tea was due to the inhibition of COMT and as green tea also contains caffeine it allows the body to free up fat for metabolism by inhibiting the degrading of cAMP. 

As with caffeine, green tea works better with individuals who are not habitual drinkers of the tea (Viechtbauer et al. 2009). The effectiveness of green tea is also limited by a persons genetics, with some ethnicities stating no effect whatsoever and an effect spectrum of 40% each way of the median (Miller et al. 2012)!

Yohimbine

Yohimbe, and its subset yohimbine, are fat-burning compounds, primarily used to lose fat during short term fasting. Yohimbine is also an aphrodisiac and can aid erectile dysfunction. It is also a general stimulant. Yohimbine works by increasing adrenaline levels in the body, as well as inhibiting a regulatory process in fat cells, which normally suppresses fat burning. 

This then functions in the same way that caffeine does. Though with that being said, users often dissociate coffee, tea and fizzy drinks as stimulants causing collective effects on the adrenal glands. This may eventually lead to adrenal fatigue.

The effects of yohimbine are partially negated by food intake, which is why it is often taken in a fasted state.

Unfortunately however Yohimbine can cause extreme anxiety in those individuals who are already prone to it.

CLA and Pyruvate 

These two popular fat burner ingredients have shown some promising results in particular studies to increase fat metabolism (Gaullier et al. 2004, Blankson et al. 2000). With that being said current trials only show a minimal increase in fat metabolism and weight loss. With individuals having to take very high dosages to have any effect. This obviously would not be feasible financially.

Raspberry Ketones:

This is the new kid on the block! To date there are absolutely no human trials on the effectiveness of raspberry ketones in burning fat! The few animal studies available involved rats and when the dosages used were translated to humans, you would have to take upward of 5g-10g per serving. For example a 100g bag costs £15 on myprotein.com but if your taking 1 serving of 10g per day, you only have 10 servings for £15. Totally financially unfeasible.

There are many other popular ingredients used in fat burners:

- Chromium 

- Forskolin 

- Fucoxanthim

- Hydroxycitric Acid

For these four ingredients there is no significant evidence for their use as a fat loss method. 

To summarise:

Of all the fat loss ingredients, only caffeine and green tea extract have been shown to cause a significant effect in regards to fat loss. This though has been totally dependent on a number of factors: habitual caffeine intake, current fat percentage, genetic predispositions. Regardless The effect of even caffeine and green tea in minimal at best. That being said organic green tea and coffee (as opposed to fat burner pills) have a range of health benefits - not just aiding in fat metabolism. 

In otherwords.....

DONT WASTE YOUR MONEY OF FAT BURNERS!!

Many Thanks,

Ethan

Coffee: I need my fix! The Health & Fitness benefits and drawbacks of coffee.

Coffee, Good? Or Bad?

Most of us need a kick start in the morning or a little pick-me-up during the day but the topic of coffee consumption has been scorned by religions and health gurus yet fully supported and enforced by others. So, what are the benefits or adverse effects of your morning cup of Joe!

A lot of the possible benefits or drawbacks of coffee depend on how it is produced and processed, so let's start at the beginning.

A coffee plantation in Brazil.

Coffee is one of the highest grossing crops / commodities in the world. In 2010 there were an estimated seven million tonnes of coffee produced worldwide, with the market share dominating in Brazil and Vietnam. After crude oil, it is the second most traded commodity in the world and has a total estimated value of $100 billion!

Two types of coffee bean exist: 

Coffee Arabica and Coffee Canephora.

Different countries have a degree of varying conditions; pH, water retention, water fall, humidity, all of which contribute to the unique taste of each type of coffee and their subsequent health benefits or potential drawbacks. But it's during the production process that the Coffee bean is at it's most vulnerable regarding it's nutritious qualities.

Traditionally beans were picked only when ripe and only then, were processed. But now, coffee beans are strip picked, regardless of ripeness. Then they are sorted by their size and colour to then fall into production.

The production process:

1. Flesh is removed from the coffee bean leaving a layer of mucilage
2. Coffee bean is fermented to remove this layer
3. Washed with fresh wtaer to remove fermentation residue, leading to mass water waste
4. Seeds are then dried. 
1. Different drying techniques can cause a degree of flavour and nutritional changes. If dried in bulk with layer upon layer, it can lead to further fermentation, lowering the sucrose content of the bean. 
5. Roasting is the next stage as is the most commonly sold state, but, can easily be done at home! The roasting changes the bean physically (increasing in size) and chemically by lowering fibre content and increasing sweetness.
1. As roasting continues, oils develop, most notably caffenol which is released when the coffee bean reaches a temperature of 200 degrees Celcius. These oils are responsible for the different tastes and aroma provided by different coffees. 
6. Chaff is produce along the roasting process but is removed by simple bursts of air.

This colour chart gives an array of different flavours and tastes

To summarise the above diagram: Lighter colours have a more potent flavour due to an increased amount of oils and acids whereas in darker colours which have been roasted for longer, these same oils and acids are destroyed.

Darker roasts also have less fibre but to balance this they have an increasingly sugary taste.

Decaffeination 

This is an optional stage of the process for those of us who wish to take away the effects of caffeine from coffee.

Standardised decaffeination is performed by using two main solvents: methylene chloride and ethyl acetate; however, these two solvents have continuously been proven to cause a variety of reactions within the human body.

These two chemicals are also known to strip the coffee of some of the taste and actually leave more caffeine in it than you once thought. 

A new method called 'The Swiss Water Process' has revolutionised the decaffeinating procedure. 

No chemicals are used at all in this process, making it a far safer product for human consumption. To explain, watch the video below for a more in depth explanation.

Brewing the perfect coffee. 

Different coffee beans from different origins require their own preparation. Some require a fine grind, another may require lose grind. But the most common grind is a medium grind. Filtering is the next stage, and it is at this point where flavour and taste can be affected. Metal filters apply their own degree of flavour so it has been for years, recommended that paper based filters are used. Paper based filters can be messy, so as of recent the coffee industry has started using new gold-based filters, which don't allow for any effect on taste and cut down on paper waste.

Instantised Coffee.

The convenience of instant coffee has caused a surge in popularity in the past decade, with many people allowing for the decrease in taste (caused by freeze drying) for the benefit of being able to brew a cup of Joe whenever they please. But, Instant coffee, although convenient, has many features that differ significantly from freshly ground beans.

• Acrylamide, a well known cancer-causing substance, is of an extremely high incidence in instant coffee. The chemical does occur naturally in coffee beans but during the processing of instant coffee this increases by nearly 4000% when compared to instant coffee.
• Instant coffee has also been stripped of significant antioxidants 
• Also stripped of caffeine content

The above drawbacks of drinking coffee are based on evidence linking them only to excessive consumption. Those who drink only moderate amounts of coffee do not display these adverse effects. So from this we can determine that the proven benefits of drinking a moderate amount of coffee < or = to 3.5 cups per day.

To summarise:

Coffee can be of a massive benefit to us as individuals, it can also present with adverse effects but this only occurs over a very long period of time.

It has also been proven that coffee even though decaffeinated still presents with many of these health benefits. However, it has been proven that traditional decaffeinisation can cause various health problems and so the Swiss Water Process is always the encouraged method. 

Thanks for reading, 

Ethan