Coffee could be considered a staple food of the typical student’s diet.

MARGEAUX ERASMUS

Coffee could be considered a staple food of the typical student’s diet. It gets us to those pesky 07:30 classes and it might even be the only way we make it through wrist-slitting lectures. Coffee also spurs us on all night when we have to finish assignments that count almost half of our semester mark and it comforts us as we study for exams or tests.

Here at Perdeby, the words “Can I get you some coffee?” surpass banal phrases of love and admiration. A student’s week, however, would not be complete without some form of alcohol to help them unwind on Thursday nights. This is the time when coffee taps alcohol into the ring to get the party started. With that in mind, we have compiled a list of reasons to fuel your coffee and wine addiction.

Happier is he who drinks coffee This January, Fiona Macrae wrote in IOL Lifestyle that coffee may keep depression at bay. A ten-year-long US study confirms the recent findings that “those who had four cups of coffee a day were ten per cent less likely to become depressed than non-coffee drinkers.” Dr Honglei Chen, a researcher in the same study, attributed this to the caffeine in coffee which stimulates the brain. So if you’re feeling blue, have some coffee. It may just make your day.

Cower away cancer, I have coffee According to Michael Downey’s article in Life Extension Magazine published last year, early studies that looked into health benefits of coffee have found a correlation between high coffee consumption and a reduced risk of various cancers. Coffee has been proven to prevent prostate, breast and liver cancer. Coffee’s cancer-fighting superpowers don’t end there though – just last year, IOL Lifestyle reported that researchers at the University of Milan found that coffee can also reduce the risk of mouth and throat cancer. This is due to more than 1 000 chemicals and anti-oxidants found in coffee that contain anti-cancer properties. So now we ask: would you like some coffee? Yes, please.

Live long and prosper with coffee Neal Freedman from the National Institute of Health and the Association of American Retired Persons (AARP) found that people who drink three or more cups of coffee a day have a ten per cent chance of living longer than those people who were not frequent coffee drinkers. This is because coffee helps prevent various diseases such as heart and respiratory diseases, diabetes and infections. It turns out that there is no need for an elixir. A cuppa joe everyday should suffice.

The ultimate Valentine’s gift Last year, Makini Brice wrote in the Medical Daily that adults who drink three cups of coffee daily have a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. The University of South Florida’s Chuanhai Cao and colleagues found in a four-year study that participants who drink coffee did not develop Alzheimer’s disease. “For those studied who did develop dementia, their blood caffeine levels were 51 per cent lower than those whose cognitive impairment remained level,” Brice said.

Forget about chocolate hearts and roses this Valentine’s Day. Get your significant other a bouquet of forget-me-nots with a jar of coffee. It may prevent your life from becoming a sequel to The Notebook.

Test coming up. I’ll have some wine with that please Most of us are acquainted with the fuzzy feeling that encompasses your brain as you drink. However, Aleisha Fetters writes on Livestrong.com that a little alcohol can actually prevent cognitive decline. “Researchers hypothesise that since moderate drinking raises good cholesterol, it can improve blood flow to the brain. Alcohol could also ‘toughen’ brain cells by stressing them a little, preparing them to cope with major stresses later in life that could cause dementia,” says Fetters. Unfortunately, not all alcohol have shown similar results. Researchers suggest that you stick to wine for this one.

Red wine makes the heart grow stronger According to Anna Hodgekiss from the Daily Mail, red wine contains a natural substance called resveratrol which has been found to lower the risk of heart disease. Resveratrol could also increase life expectancy (step aside, Fountain of Youth). Hodgekiss writes that “resveratrol is found in the skins of red grapes and a glass of red wine a day has been put forward as the reason for the longevity of the French, despite a fat-rich diet.”

Red wine, however, might not be the only option when it comes to matters of the heart. According to Fetters, a review done by the Harvard School of Public Health found that “a moderate intake of any boozy beverages can cut your risk of heart disease by up to 40 per cent.”

The benefits of drinking alcohol and coffee have been named, but one word was unanimous with all of Perdeby’s research: moderation. Alcohol might have elixir qualities and coffee might help to prevent cancer, but drinking too much of it could be detrimental to your health.

It’s during tricky situations like these that it helps to remember that even too much sleep is not good for you. Figures, right?

Illustration: Simon-Kai Garvie

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