COFFEE CONSUMPTION MAY REDUCE RISKS OF HEART FAILURE AND CANCER
Every disease has a cure:
COFFEE CONSUMPTION MAY REDUCE RISKS OF HEART FAILURE AND CANCER
by Syarif Hidayat*
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيم
(In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful)
Prophet Muhammad sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, he said, “Every disease has a cure, and when you’ve found the right drug with a disease, He will heal with permission of God Almighty Allah.” [Reported by Muslim].
Ibn Qayim rahimahullah, commenting on this hadith by saying, “In the hadith of the Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam associate healing with accuracy (match) the drug with the disease. Therefore, no one creature, but has his opponent. And every disease must have an antidote drug, with which the disease is treated. The Prophet sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam associate healing with the precision of the treatment.”
“Verily, We have created every thing according to (Our) predestination.” (Al-Qur’an, Surah Al-Qamar 49)
“Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me; And it is He Who feeds me and gives me to drink; And when I am ill, it is He who cures me; And Who will cause me to die, and then will bring me to life (again); And Who, I hope will forgive me my faults on the Day of Recompense, (the Day of Resurrection); My Lord! Bestow Hukm (religious knowledge, right judgement of the affairs and Prophethood) on me, and join me with the righteous, And grant me an honourable mention in later generations. And make me one of the inheritors of the Paradise of Delight. And forgive my father, verily he is of the erring. And disgrace me not on the Day when (all the creatures) will be resurrected; The Day whereon neither wealth nor sons will avail, (88) Except him who brings to Allâh a clean heart [clean from Shirk (polytheism) and Nifâq (hypocrisy)]. And Paradise will be brought near to the Muttaqûn (pious and righteous persons – see V.2:2). And the (Hell) Fire will be placed in full view of the erring.” (Al-Qur’an, Surah Al-Shuara, Verses 78 – 91)
“O mankind! There hath come to you a admonition from your Lord and a healing for the (diseases) in your hearts and for those who believe, a Guidance and a Mercy.” (Al-Qur’an, Surah Yunus, Verse: 57)
“And if We had sent this as a Qur’ân in a foreign language (other than Arabic), they would have said: Why are not its Verses explained in detail (in our language)? What! (A Book) not in Arabic and (the Messenger) an Arab?” Say: “It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur’ân) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand).” (Al-Qur’an, Surah Fussilat, Verse: 44)
“And We send down of the Qur’ân that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (in Islâmic Monotheism and act on it), and it increases the Zâlimûn (polytheists and wrong-doers) nothing but loss.” (Al-Qur’an, Surah Al-Isra, Verse: 82)
“And from the fruits of date-palms and grapes, you derive strong drink and a goodly provision. Verily, therein is indeed a sign for people who have wisdom. And your Lord inspired the bees, saying: “Take you habitations in the mountains and in the trees and in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you).” There comes forth from their bellies, a drink of varying colour wherein is healing for men. Verily, in this is indeed a sign for people who think.”(Al-Qur’an, Surah An-Nahl, Verses: 67 – 69)
Coffee drinking may reduce heart failure risk
Studies show regular, moderate, coffee drinking may reduce heart failure risk and risk of oral cancer. Coffee is one of the most popular beverages around the world. Now comes word from a very large study of Americans that the stimulating drink might play a role in reducing the risk of oral / pharyngeal cancer, a particularly deadly form of the disease.
If you drink coffee regularly in moderation, you could reduce your risk of heart failure, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Circulation Heart Failure. An article titled “Study: Regular, moderate, coffee drinking may reduce heart failure risk” published in Daily Disruption, says Researchers, analyzing previous studies on the link between coffee consumption and heart failure, found that moderate coffee drinking as part of a daily routine may be linked with a significantly lower risk of heart failure. In contrast, indulging excessively may be linked with an increased chance of developing serious heart problems.
“While there is a commonly held belief that regular coffee consumption may be dangerous to heart health, our research suggests that the opposite may be true,” said Murray Mittleman, M.D., Dr.P.H., senior study author and director of the Cardiovascular Epidemiology Research Unit at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.
“We found that moderate consumption — which we define as the equivalent of about two typical American coffee shop beverages — may actually protect against heart failure by as much as 11 percent,” he said. “On the other hand, excessive coffee drinking — five to six commercial coffee house cups per day has no benefit and may even be dangerous. As with so many things, moderation appears to be the key here, too.”
Researchers reviewed five high quality prospective studies of coffee consumption and heart failure risk published between 2001 and 2011. Combined, the studies included 6,522 heart failure events among 140,220 males and females. Four of the studies were conducted in Sweden and one in Finland.
Moderate and Excessive consumption
The study defines moderate consumption as four Northern European servings per day, the equivalent to about two typical 8-ounce American servings. Excessive coffee consumption is 10 Northern European servings per day, the equivalent to four or five coffees from popular American coffee restaurant chains (servings sizes vary from 9 to 20 fluid ounces per serving).
Researchers didn’t account for brew strength, but coffee is typically weaker in the United States than it is in Europe. They also didn’t differentiate between caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, but most of the coffee consumed in Sweden and Finland is caffeinated. “There are many factors that play into a person’s risk of heart failure, but moderate coffee consumption doesn’t appear to be one of them,” said Elizabeth Mostofsky, Sc.D., lead study author and research fellow at Beth Israel.
“This is good news for coffee drinkers, of course, but it also may warrant changes to the current heart failure prevention guidelines, which suggest that coffee drinking may be risky for heart patients. It now appears that a couple of cups of coffee per day may actually help protect against heart failure.” The American Heart Association recommends that heart failure patients consume only a moderate amount of caffeine — no more than a cup or two of coffee or other caffeinated beverage a day.
Researchers didn’t definitively say why coffee offers a heart-health benefit. But evidence suggests that frequent coffee drinkers develop a tolerance to the beverage’s caffeine, which may put them at a decreased risk of developing high blood pressure. Habitual coffee consumption is also associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, with most studies showing the greatest reduction in risk with higher levels of coffee consumption.
“Diabetes and hypertension are among the most important risk factors for heart failure, so it stands to reason that reducing one’s odds of developing either of them, in turn, reduces one’s chance of heart failure,” Mittleman said. Other co-authors are Megan Rice, Sc.D., and Emily Levitan, Sc.D.
The study was partly supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. Read the current American Heart Association guidelines on preventing heart failure or learn about caffeine and heart disease.
Coffee consumption reduces risk of oral cancer
Jessica Berman in her article titled “Study: Coffee consumption reduces risk of oral cancer” published in www.voanews.com writes
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages around the world. Now comes word from a very large study of Americans that the stimulating drink might play a role in reducing the risk of oral / pharyngeal cancer, a particularly deadly form of the disease.
One of the many questions put to the 970,000 American men and women taking part in the 30-year-old Cancer Prevention Study involved their coffee-drinking habits. The researchers — population study experts with the American Cancer Society — say the study has found that participants who drank about four cups of coffee per day reduced their risk of oral/pharyngeal cancer by 49 percent, compared to those who drank little or no coffee per day.
Oral cancer and cancer of the pharynx, or upper part of the throat, are especially aggressive forms of the disease that are very hard to treat.
In the study, there were 868 deaths among the participants, some of whom smoked. So, according to study leader Janet Hildebrand, it appeared coffee did not have a protective effect.
Hildebrand, an epidemiologist and population expert with the American Cancer Society, says there was a proportionally higher risk of cancer among those who drank less of the hot beverage, compared to the cancer risk of those who consumed the most coffee each day. “So it went down a little bit with each cup. And the lowest risk found was with four, five, six cups per day,” Hildebrand said.
Investigators found only a slight health benefit in drinking two decaffeinated cups of coffee, but no advantage was found among tea drinkers, although tea, particularly green tea, is known to have other health benefits. Hildebrand says coffee is thought to contain other health-promoting substances besides caffeine. “Two compounds for example have been studied for their anti-cancer properties and they have been found to possibly prevent cell replication and…prevent proliferation,” Hildebrand said.
Oral and pharyngeal cancer, although rare in the United States, are among the top 10 cancers worldwide. Study leader Janet Hildebrand says it would be interesting to find out whether coffee consumption leads to a better outcome among people who have already been diagnosed with the diseases.
The study describing how coffee consumption can reduce the risk of oral / pharyngeal cancer is published in the American Journal of Epidemiology.
(T/E01/IR)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
*Senior Editor of MINA (He can be contacted via emails: [email protected] or [email protected])
Bibliotheque:
1. voanews.com
