Benefits of Coffee

• Caffeine is the principal ingredient of coffee with psychoactive properties and acts by blocking the adenosine receptor activation. The activation of the adenosine receptor causes drowsiness by releasing an inhibitory neuromodulator, adenosine. Therefore, drinking coffee provides the central nervous system with stimulatory effects. 
• Phenolic compounds present in coffee have antioxidant property, which helps to balance the oxidant-antioxidant ratio in the body and assist to normalize metabolic functioning. Intake of such natural antioxidants also improves the antioxidant enzyme functioning in our body.  
• Coffee has a preventive effect against multiple chronic conditions. Health researchers reported prolonged coffee drinking can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes development. 
• A scientific journal published a report, in which it is mentioned that coffee has a hepato-preventive effect and provides a protective effect against the development of hepatic injury, liver cirrhosis, and hepatocellular carcinoma in people with higher risk factors.  
• Coffee drinking inversely reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in men. Women also get this benefit who do not expose to postmenopausal estrogen. 
• Caffeine has Alzheimer’s disease preventive effect. Regular caffeine drinking through coffee is one of the effective ways to reduce Alzheimer’s disease risk.  
• Physical endurance enhancement is significant after drinking coffee beverages.
• The research study evidence shows that the suicidal tendency has also been reduced by 13 percent by increasing the consumption of coffee regularly. 
• The cancer risk-reducing effect of coffee is significant, especially in liver cancer and colorectum cancer. However, the exact mechanism of action of coffee against cancer is unknown. [1]

Side Effects of Coffee

Coffee ingestion has some significant side effects. These are as follows:

• Coffee has direct adverse effects on the cardiovascular system. It has been observed that excessive coffee intake can stimulate cardiac functioning and the outcome of this leads to increased heart rate (tachycardia), hypertension (increase blood pressure than normal), and sporadic arrhythmic (abnormal cardiac rhythm) conditions. The sudden changes in cardiac functioning are noticeable immediately after the intake of coffee. Coffee intake can induce arrhythmia and therefore, a doctor usually does not recommend coffee as a beverage for the cardiac patient. Individuals with frequent coffee-drinking habits often have high blood pressure complaints. Cardiac patients have strict restrictions on coffee drinking because it can increase the risk of cardiac arrhythmia. [1]
• Low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and cholesterol level enhancement are the major cause of cardiac disorders because the rise in LDL and cholesterol level influences plaque formation. Plaque can develop in any type of blood vessel and often causes obstruction in the blood vessel by stimulating blood clotting. The clot can be dislodged to another site by circulating through the systemic circulation. This phenomenon is termed thrombo-embolism. Thrombotic complications in the brain, pancreas, and ovary are often associated with cancer. Plaque disruption is one of the major cause of coronary thrombosis and emboli formation and trigger atherosclerosis. [2] Cafestol and kahweol are two diterpenes present in coffee and coffee containing these diterpenes is responsible for increasing cholesterol-level in the blood. [1]
• Calcium is an essential mineral for bone health. But, it has been found that coffee drinking can cause hindrance of calcium absorption in the gastrointestinal tract. Therefore, elderly people who have developed a risk of osteoporosis should avoid 2–3 cups of coffee consumption per day and also require to increase their consumption of vitamin D and calcium supplements for preventing frequent fractures. [1]
• Caffeine, the bioactive compound of coffee can cross the placental barrier and can reach the fetus, which can cause impaired development of the fetus. Caffeine has the potential to cause spontaneous abortion also. Therefore, pregnant women should limit caffeine-containing coffee drinking during the gestation period. [1]
• Restricted intake of coffee is also necessary for children because it has been observed that exceeding the upper limit of caffeine can trigger altered behavior in children. They often have a complaint of anxiety or nervousness with increasing consumption of coffee. [1]

How many cups are right? 

Although it is easy to understand how many cups are right for coffee intake, it is difficult to estimate the standard coffee intake per day measured through the cup because the volume of a coffee cup can vary. In the United States, the cup measurement used for nutrition labeling is 240 ml, whereas, 1 Canadian cup = 227.3045 milliliters. [3] In addition, the quantity of coffee intake per day varies depending upon several individual factors including body weight, age, and the physical condition of a particular person. However, the following are some evidence-based recommendations:

• Experts estimated that pregnant women should not intake more than 300 mg/day of coffee during the gestation period. [1]
• Federal Department of Health, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada estimated the upper limit of coffee for children. According to this, the consumption of coffee by children should not exceed 2.5 mg/kg body weight/day. [1]
• Experts also recommended filtered coffee for individuals who have a tendency to develop high serum levels because unfiltered coffee contains a significant amount of diterpenes. However, diterpenes can be removed through a filtration process. Filtered coffee consumption is an alternative option to reduce the risk of elevation of serum cholesterol. [1]
• Caffeine energy drinks become popular beverages in Western countries. Excessive drinking of this beverage causes anxiety, sleep disturbances, and cardiac disorders including tachycardia, jitteriness, and gastrointestinal problems. It has also been reported that excessive intake of this can cause seizures and even death in rare cases. To limit these events, Health Canada recommends the dose of caffeine intake. According to this guideline, the upper intake of caffeine for healthy adults is 400 mg/ day; and for adolescents (more than 13 years of age), the calculation depends upon the body weight of an individual. The calculated value of caffeine is 2.5 mg/kg body weight. [1]
• In the Canadian market, a single serving of energy drinks typically contains 80 mg to 180 mg of caffeine (depending on size). Health Canada allows a maximum limit of caffeine per serving is 180 mg /container and 200mg to 400 mg per liter of the drink. [4]
• It is also important to check the product label of the caffeine-containing drink. Health Canada also advises both quantitative and qualitative statements about the declaration of caffeine required to mention in the product label, which is “Do not consume more than (X) container(s)/serving(s) daily” or “Usage: (X) container(s)/serving(s) maximum daily.” The X may be 1 or 2, which depends on the vitamin and mineral content of the product. [4] 

In social activities, coffee drinking is one of the most convenient and safe beverages. It also improves performance and provides a feeling of well-being at the workplace and also in the leisure period. 

The restricted intake of coffee provides several health benefits, but if anyone develops habitual addiction and crosses the upper limit, then it can provide an adverse effect. So, it is advisable to keep drinking coffee within the limit. 

References

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2213422014000456
2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17903843
3. https://ipfs.io/ipfs/QmXoypizjW3WknFiJnKLwHCnL72vedxjQkDDP1mXWo6uco/wiki/Cup_(unit).html
4. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2211335516301450

Diet is considering the meals containing a variety of foodstuffs instead of secluded food or nutrients. Intake of meals has accountability for complex interactions between nutrients and non-nutrients. 

Why have plant-based food recommendations become highlighted?

Plant-based diet plans usually uplift whole, plant-based foods and dissuade refined and processed foods, meats, eggs, and even dairy products. Plant-based diets are considered a regimen in many folk medicinal practices may due to their contribution to the risk reduction of some chronic conditions like cardiovascular diseases by promoting lower BMI, cholesterol levels, blood pressure, and HbA1C.

The consumption of a plant-based diet may also decrease the number of prescribed medications required to treat chronic medical conditions and reduce the incidence rate of ischemic heart disease and related mortality rates. Currently, many naturopathy doctors recommend a plant-based diet to their patients, primarily those with high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or obesity. A plant-based diet has a chemo-preventive role in cancer development. 

A healthy plant-based diet highlights nutrient-dense plant foods and subsequently decreases the intake of processed foods, oil, and animal-based foods (including dairy products, animal fats, and eggs). It encourages having plenty of fruits, raw or cooked vegetables, beans, whole grains, peas, legumes, lentils, soybeans, seeds, and nuts with low-fat content. 

Different diet plans have already been established that limit or omit animal-based food items. But lack of a clear idea of these diet specifications often creates confusion among users. NitaNaturale has published this article to provide a transitory summary of distinctive diets that limit animal products. Multiple research findings agree that a plant-based diet has substantial health benefits. 

What are the different types of plant-based diets?

The terms vegetarian and vegan are often used interchangeably for describing a plant-based diet. Both vegetarian and vegan diets have ethical or religious explanations that may or may not justify their health benefits. It is necessary to differentiate different plant-based diet plans by precisely defining them. Various plant-based diets are distinct because of the variety of compositions that also explains their health value.

• Vegan (or total vegetarian): Eliminates all animal foodstuffs, particularly meat, poultry, eggs, seafood, and dairy products. This diet plan does not restrict to intake of whole foods or limit fat or refined grains.
• Raw food vegan: Same elimination as veganism and the rejection of all foodstuffs prepared at temperatures more than 118°F.
• Lacto-vegetarian Eliminates meat, poultry, eggs, and seafood but includes dairy products.
• Ovo-vegetarian Eliminates meat, poultry, seafood, and milk products but includes eggs.
• Lacto-Ovo vegetarian: Eliminates meat, poultry, and seafood and includes dairy products and eggs.
• Mediterranean: maximum inclusion of whole foods obtained from different plant sources and extensive use of fatty fish and olive oil with limited intake of dairy products, eggs, chicken, and red meat once or twice per month. This diet plant recognizes Omega-3 fatty acids-containing foods.
• Whole foods, plant-based, low-fat: Includes plant foods in their whole form, especially fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes, and nuts (in lesser amounts). Animal foods are restricted with limited use of fat to obtain ultimate health assistance from this diet. 

Healthy diet tips with multiple alternative options

It is essential to maintain the required calorie level. The appropriate calorie varies from individual to individual. The various factors which interfere with the calorie requirement are age, physical activity, and body weight. The required calorie can be maintained by proper consumption of mixed nutrients and should avoid fulfilling the calorie by taking a few high-calorie foods and beverages. These types of food habits do not provide adequate nutrients. They are usually the source of saturated fats, trans fats, triglycerides, or high glycemic index that increase the risk factors for several chronic diseases. For reference, Dr. Walter Willett, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health acknowledged that diet has undoubtedly provided an impact on cardiovascular disease. The following dietary recommendations are preventive measures against various plaque-forming diseases like cardiac disorders, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and dementia.

1. Avoidance of simple carbohydrates which have a high glycemic index is essential to prevent the raising of blood sugar levels. Refined grain products such as white bread, pasta, wheat flour, and white rice are examples of simple carbs with high GI. Marked reduction is necessary for sugar and potato-rich foods. Replacement of simple carbohydrate products with complex carbohydrates like whole-grain foods, beans, and nuts is a smart step towards a healthy diet. Whole-grain foods can raise glucose levels very slowly because of the following interconnected reasons:
   • metabolism takes time
   • accelerated insulin secretion is not required
   • the scope of insulin resistance is limited
   • over activity of the pancreas is not required
   • Prevent the damage in the beta cells from where the insulin is secreted 
   • All these limit type 2 diabetes and dyslipidemia. 
2. Reduction or elimination of animal fat consumption specifically beef, pork, and lamb from the diet is another good diet tip. But if anybody cannot follow this rigidity, partial avoidance of red meat (maximum cuts required for pork products) is emphasized. Take necessary precautions during the preparation of the animal products like backed and boiled products must be chosen to avoid much consumption of saturated and trans-fats. 
3. Strict avoidance of hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is encouraged. These are one of the prime sources of trans fatty acids. One of the steps to avoid partially hydrogenated vegetable oil is to avert the taking of commercially available packed food items and margarine. Use an adequate amount of olive oil, peanut oil, and canola oil. They are the chief source of monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. 
4. Add an abundant amount of fruits and vegetables to your daily diet plan. Expert nutritionists praise 6 to 9 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily.
5. Highly recommended protein and complex carbohydrates are bean curd products such as tofu.
6. Try to be a pescatarian/vegetarian as possible.
7. Animal-food lovers can use seafood as an alternative source of animal products in their diet. Particularly oily fish from northern oceans, for example, salmon, mackerel, tuna, sardines, anchovies, and Alaskan halibut are healthy options. Many animal-food lovers prefer seafood over red and white meat. White meat from chicken and turkey is also a better option than red meat (beef, lamb, and pork) and dark meat from chicken and turkey. Shellfish contain a cholesterol-like substance that does not have much determinantal impact on blood cholesterol. But the amount of saturated animal fat in the diet raises ‘bad’ low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the blood.

Finally, we should be a firm advocate for daily exercise that has enough scientific back-up to improve cardiovascular health. Individuals should exercise for more than 40 minutes per day. Walking, jogging, swimming, and rowing are ideal aerobic exercises with multiple health benefits. Some weight training is also a good idea and can be performed two to three times per week for approximately 30 minutes. If you are not someone who exercises habitually, it would be prudent to consult a physician and a trainer before initiating an exercise program. 

Regular meal management & lifestyle measures

• You need to start your day with physical exercise. Both high-intensity aerobic exercise and resistance exercise control free fatty acid synthesis and lipogenesis. Obesity is one of the primary reasons for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Daily physical exercise can control obesity and reduce the risk of fatty liver symptoms.
•  Avoid drinking artificial beverages drinking habit during and after the completion of the exercise. You can drink lots of homemade lemon water. Lemon water is the simplest way to get the benefits of lemon. You cut two lemons. Put them into a jug of water, and drink this at a regular interval. The antioxidant property of lemon helps to reduce oxidative damage. Flavonoids present in lemon have a protective effect on the liver.   
• You should drink herbal tea made up of 5gm black seed (kalonji) powder with 5 gm of Lemon Balm leaf (Melissa officinalis) instead of tea and coffee. This is an effective way to reduce non-alcoholic fatty liver symptoms. A randomized clinical trial result reported Thymoquinone is a phytochemical of the black seed that can reduce lipid profile and liver enzyme. Lemon balm also has a hypolipidemic effect. Both of these therapeutic effects are beneficial for a fatty liver condition. You can prepare this herbal tea in your own kitchen. For this, you need to prepare a tea bag with require amount of kalonji and Lemon Balm leaf and store these tea bags in an airtight container. You need to boil 250ml water and put off the flame. Add one tea bag to the boiled water and put the lead wait for 10 minutes and enjoy healthy herbal tea.  
• Turmeric is a common kitchen spice in India and an effective regimen for fatty liver. Raw turmeric rhizome is readily available in vegetable shops. Drinking raw turmeric juice every morning on an empty stomach provides great help to control fatty liver conditions.  A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled human trial showed curcumin, a phytochemical present in turmeric could improve non-alcoholic fatty liver conditions. Different human research studies recommended that 600 mg/ day or 0.6 ml turmeric powder or turmeric oil three times per day is safe and effective to provide medicinal value. Simply, you add raw turmeric juice to fruit juice. Fruit juice masks the pungent taste of turmeric without impacting its benefit.
• Oatmeal is a great alternative to rice and wheat for patients with fatty liver. You can introduce this whole grain to your breakfast and dinner. Oatmeal can reduce body weight. It also limits the risk of diabetes. Both obesity and diabetes are commonly associated with fatty liver. The newspaper Hindustan Times published an article on 28th October 2017 that reported fatty liver was a leading cause of the higher prevalence of diabetes in India.
• If you have an advanced stage of fatty liver with swelling of the liver, then omega-3 fatty acids help to reduce the progression of the condition. The omega-3 fatty acid has an anti-inflammatory effect that reduces liver inflammation. It controls other underlying triggering factors including hypertriglyceridemia. A meta-analysis reported by observing ultrasound diagnosis that omega-3 fatty acid supplements significantly reduce liver fat amount. 
• Include β-carotene, vitamins C, and E-rich food items in the diet. Certain natural food sources are effective against non-alcoholic fatty liver condition. Such as

Walnuts – 30 gm per day

Blackcurrants – 100 g

Parsley leaves – 100gm

Red Capsicum – 100 gm

Horseradish – 100gm

Wheat germ -100gm

Carrot – 100 gm

Dried apricot -100gm

Onion leaves – 100 gm

Mushrooms

Apples

Oranges

Green leafy vegetables

Green tea instead of milk tea or black tea and coffee

Tofu instead of Paneer

Soy milk

Yogurt

Chicken

Fish like Katla, Hisla, Chapila, Morola etc.

Eggs (less than two eggs per week)

Food should be boiled, steamed, or baked without added oil, butter, and ghee as much as possible.

Cooking oil must be extra virgin olive oil.

Meal intake instructions

• Break your overall daily intake into 4–5 meals; give 2 to 3 hourly maximum breaks between meals.
• At least 3 hours gap requires between last meal intake and before sleeping
• Slowly intake your meal and do proper chewing before swallowing
• Finish your eating even before the feeling of satiety, as satiety often feels after 15 minutes of completing eating

4 Inexpensive nutritional supplements

• Turmeric Powder or crushed raw turmeric (1 teaspoon) and a pinch of black pepper powder- mix with hot water. Drink it every morning on an empty stomach.
• Raw garlic –2 bulbs daily with morning meal
• Cod liver oil capsules –twice daily after meal
• Nutrilite Milk Thistle with Dandelion supplement (Amway India) – one tablet twice a day along with your meals

Right exercise habit

At least 30 minutes of daily exercise in the morning hours (between 6 am to 9 am) in sunlight to get natural vitamin D.

Periodic diagnostic tests recommendation

• Liver function tests
• Vitamin D level
• USG (with GP recommendation)

Restrictions for progressive fatty liver

• No alcohol
• No smoking

Follow the above-mentioned regimens for at least three months to get an effective result. But necessarily you need to go for periodic diagnosis to check the progression of the condition.