Is it good for the elderly to drink coffee? The elderly need to pay more attention to drinking coffee

Coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world today. Many young people think that coffee is a beverage for young people. In fact, some elderly people also love to drink coffee. A considerable number of elderly people, especially some elderly intellectuals, have also developed the habit of drinking coffee. So is it good for the elderly to drink coffee? What should the elderly pay attention to when drinking coffee? The following will introduce them one by one for your reference.

Is it good for the elderly to drink coffee? 6 benefits of drinking coffee for the elderly

1. Prevent Alzheimer's disease

Studies have found that older people who insist on drinking coffee are more physically active than their peers who do not drink coffee. In addition, these older people who drink coffee have relatively less cognitive decline. Researchers believe that among the three most consumed beverages in the world, coffee, water and tea, coffee has the effect of activating cognition. In addition, coffee can enhance the antioxidant capacity of the blood and provide protection to prevent free radicals from damaging the nervous system. Drinking three cups a day can enhance memory and reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease.

2. Prolong life

The study found that older people who drank coffee, whether or not their coffee contained caffeine, had lower mortality rates than their peers who did not drink coffee. The researchers found that the association between coffee and lower mortality increased with the amount of coffee consumed. Compared with non-coffee drinkers, those who drank more than three cups of coffee a day had a roughly 10% lower mortality rate. Older coffee drinkers had lower rates of death from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, trauma, accidents, diabetes and infectious diseases.

3. Prevent gallstones

Gallstones are mainly blocky crystals formed by cholesterol. High-fat foods may cause gallstones. Studies have shown that caffeine can prevent cholesterol from forming crystals, reduce fat storage by increasing the body's calorie consumption, reduce the gallbladder's absorption of fluid before gallstones form, and increase the amount of bile flowing through the gallbladder. Men who drink two to three cups of coffee a day have a 40% lower chance of getting gallstones.

4. Relax

Coffee is popular because it can refresh the mind. The caffeine in coffee stimulates the central nervous system, making the mind clearer, thinking more fully and concentrating, thus improving work efficiency. Experiments show that 300 mg (about 3 cups of brewed coffee) of coffee a day can have a good effect on a person's mood. Drinking coffee appropriately can prevent depression in the elderly.

5. Prevent kidney cancer

Coffee is rich in antioxidants, which may help protect kidney cells from damage. In addition, some components of coffee can enhance the body's sensitivity to insulin and improve kidney function, which may have a certain preventive effect on kidney cancer over time. Studies have found that people who drink more than three cups of coffee a day have a 16% lower risk of kidney cancer than those who drink less than one cup of coffee a day (and do not drink tea).

6. Lowers blood sugar

Coffee can have a certain effect on patients with high blood sugar, causing their pancreas to secrete a certain amount of insulin. Insulin is very helpful in controlling blood sugar levels. Although we still don’t know exactly how coffee works, scientific research has shown that coffee contains flavanols, which have certain benefits for the human circulatory system and can increase the sensitivity of insulin.

What should the elderly pay attention to when drinking coffee?

1. Elderly people with ulcers should not drink coffee because coffee can stimulate the secretion of gastric acid, which can aggravate ulcers and cause stomach pain and bleeding.

2. Elderly people should not drink strong coffee. Drinking strong coffee can speed up the heartbeat, cause arrhythmias such as premature beats, excessive excitement, insomnia, etc., thus affecting rest. Especially do not drink coffee at night, as caffeine can reduce sleep time and make sleep shallower. Drinking coffee in the first three hours of sleep is the most harmful.

3. Elderly people should limit the amount of sugar they drink when drinking coffee. This is because sugar can promote the synthesis of lipids in the liver, increase the concentration of serum cholesterol, beta lipoprotein and neutral fat, and promote arteriosclerosis. In addition, the elderly have poor tolerance to sugar. Drinking coffee will cause blood sugar to rise. Adding sugar to coffee will make it more likely to cause metabolic disorders and induce diabetes. At the same time, eating too much sugar will also cause weight gain. Elderly people with diabetes should not add sugar to their coffee.

4. Elderly people with arteriosclerosis, hypertension, and heart disease should not drink coffee. Some scholars have found that people who drink coffee regularly have higher cholesterol levels in their blood. According to foreign survey data, among patients with myocardial infarction, 17% do not drink coffee, and 40% drink 5 to 6 cups of coffee a day. This shows that for people who drink coffee, the free fatty acids in their blood increase 3 hours after drinking, and blood sugar, lactic acid, and pyruvic acid also increase. This is because caffeine can increase blood lipids. Therefore, drinking coffee can promote arteriosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

5. Elderly people who drink coffee regularly should supplement calcium. Scholars from Washington State University in the United States conducted a study on 135 adults who drink coffee. The results showed that except for two of them, the calcium excreted in their urine doubled compared to when they did not drink coffee. It has been determined that drinking two cups of coffee will cause a loss of about 15 mg of calcium. An adult who drinks coffee regularly needs to supplement 100 mg of calcium every day, or drink at least a cup of milk or eat half an ounce of cheese. He can also eat more beans, day lilies, fungus, kelp, crabs and other calcium-rich foods to make up for the loss of calcium caused by drinking coffee.