"One to two cups a day appear to be beneficial," Vinson says about coffee. If you don’t like coffee, consider drinking black tea, which is the second most consumed antioxidant source in the U.S. diet.
Dr. Keith I. Block of the Block Center for Integrative Cancer Care and Optimal Health in Evanston, Illinois is in agreement. He concedes that while coffee might be the number one source of antioxidant in the American diet, "that is not license to make it a mainstay of your health regimen."
Block further noted that "Vinson’s (Dr. Joe Vinson, the lead scientist who conducted the University of Scranton study) results are perhaps more a reflection on the inadequacy of our fruit and vegetable intake than on the health benefits of coffee, which has some significant health concerns for many people."
Vinson says, "There are about 4,000 known (antioxidant) compounds that are in plants. Their purpose (for the plant) is to reduce free radicals from UV light (exposure). Coffee is a rather unique plant in that it doesn’t have a lot of different chemicals in it."
Other study authors and experts warn that people get the most disease protection when they consume a wide variety of antioxidants. Since coffee carries only a few specific types, it is not recommended that you make the bean your only antioxidant source.
Director of the Antioxidants Research Laboratory at Tufts University’s Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging in Boston, Massachusetts, Jeffery B. Blumberg also cautions that Vinson’s study data do not account for how well chemicals in coffee are absorbed in the body.
"The antioxidants in coffee are primarily of a specific type…," he said. "We know relatively little about its activity in humans and its biological role."
"To suggest its role is similar to other essential antioxidants is misleading," he added.
Both Vinson and Blumberg recommend that eating more foods that contain a host of vital minerals and nutrients in addition to a high concentration of antioxidants – such as vegetables, fruits, nuts, and whole grains is better than relying solely on coffee.
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