International Coffee Day: a drink that is gaining ground among Argentines but which is far from dethroning mate | How much is it recommended to take and what are its advantages and disadvantages

There shouldn’t be an Argentinian or Argentinian who hasn’t tried coffee, even though few know that October 1 is celebrated on the International Coffee Day. Discovered hundreds of years ago by farmers who noticed that the goats that ate its grains seemed more active, there is a lot of talk about its properties and what happens or not when you take it. Página / 12 met with the President of the Argentine Federation of Cardiology (FAC) and chief of ambulatory medicine of the Cardiovascular Institute of Buenos Aires (ICBA), Gustavo Cerezo, to analyze the advantages and contraindications that usually appear associated with this drink.

The official date, set for October 1 of each year, was set in 2015 by the International Coffee Organization to honor those who are responsible for collecting, washing, drying, classifying, roasting, tasting and enjoying this product in different parts of the world. It is also used to promote fair trade in the sector.

It is estimated that Argentina consumes, on average, 1 kilo of coffee per person per year, a small number compared to yerba mate, whose annual average per capita is between 6 and 7 kilos. However, in recent years, coffee culture has grown in Argentina, with the emergence of specialist cafes, sommeliers and a more demanding attitude on the part of consumers.

What is the recommended amount of coffee

The recommended amounts of coffee, the FAC president explained to this newspaper, vary according to the state of health of each person. “If the patient has a disease for which coffee is contraindicated, such as reflux esophagitis, gastritis, peptic ulcer, ulcerative colitis, or irritable bowel, for example, the doctors’ recommendation is that don’t drink coffee, and sometimes neither tea nor mate ”, because they also contain caffeine, specifies Gustavo Cerezo (MN 66559).

Para them cardiovascular disease patients, the dose “which is not contraindicated” is two wells per day. “Coffee increases heart rate and blood pressure. As this is directly proportional to the amount taken, the suggestion should be measured. With two wells, there should be no problem,” he said.

For “the rest of the people”, instead, “there is no coffee limit.” However, it is advisable not to go beyond 2 or 3 cupsHe said. With a caveat: “This recommended amount may not be the same for everyone, because caffeine sensitivity has a individual variant, which causes some patients to drink coffee gives them symptoms and others feel nothing “.

“There are people who do not drink coffee at night because afterwards they cannot sleep while there are others who drink and have no effect,” he exemplified. The most important thing is therefore to watch out for these symptoms and reduce the dose if necessary, because “if you overdo it there is an increase in stomach acid and you have a greater chance of developing an ulcer or esophagitis. “.

In this sense, it is important assess the concentration in which the coffee is brewed, “since the more we produce it, the more it is concentrated and the more it produces a high acidity”. It is also advisable to read the nutritional information to check that it does not contain sweeteners and sweeteners, especially in the case of diabetics.

Benefits and contraindications of coffee

Coffee, says the expert, has many properties: increases heart rate, blood pressure, and cognitive status, “which means you are more alert and have faster muscle and sensory responses (unlike with alcohol). ”In fact, he recalled,“ historically we drank this drink because hundreds of years ago some farmers saw that goats that ate the grain of coffee were very active, which led them to question the properties of food.

These changes in the cognitive state have to do with an “action of the coffee on the level of the central nervous system, at the level of the brain: this drink helps solve calculations, helps with memory and keeps you aware for longer when the exhaustion that appears after many hours of waking catches up with you, ”he continued.

In recent years they have appeared observational studies who say that “in people who drink coffee, it is common for normal or pathological memory loss that occurs throughout life to be diminished,” Cerezo said. “There are also observations in patients with Alzheimer’s at an early stage where a improvement in the natural history of Alzheimer’s disease, which does not mean that it is a cure for this disease, ”he said.

With regard to other diseases such as DiabetesThere are also observational studies where “it is observed that there is a lower incidence over time of diabetes in patients who are predisposed to it and who drink coffee”. However, he warned, “These are more recent studies and there aren’t many either, so the evidence isn’t as strong“.

There are also other observational studies that “suggest that people who drink coffee live longer” but “they have what doctors call” biases “and that makes us take them into account but ignore them. as strong evidence, ”added.

The president of the FAC, finally, downplayed studies that claim that people who drink coffee are less likely to die of cardiovascular disease because, he said, “there is little evidence on this subject.” It also challenges a myth very present in the society which holds –on the contrary– that coffee is contraindicated for heart patients. “Although there are some conditions that it is not recommended for, such as arrhythmias, it is not something general (for the rest of heart disease). Excesses should be avoided,” he said. -He insists.

Coffee consumption in Argentina

According to a survey carried out by the consultancy firm Isonomia for the Argentinian Chamber of Coffee, 82% of consumers of this drink in the country drink more than one cup per day: 63% drink between 1 and 2; 16% between 3 and 4 and 3% more than 4. The remaining 18% admitted to taking less than 1 cup per day.

Regarding their reasons for drinking coffee, 49% responded that they like the taste and 20% said that it “wakes them up”. Besides, 6 out of 10 people answered that getting together to drink this drink “is a very Argentinian custom”. “It is the individuals with the highest purchasing power who are defined as the greatest consumers of coffee and the increase in intensity occurs especially among young people between 18 and 29 years old”, underlined the consultant.

On another side, 65% of the population consulted agree that meetings between friends are improved by drinking coffee. Meanwhile, 48% say that after consuming this drink “they feel much better”, while 14% cannot “start their day without a coffee”.

The study is already a few years old: it was carried out between April 13 and 19, 2015, from a sample of 904 cases made up of men and women between 18 and 80 years old. Since then, as Página / 12 confirmed by the Argentine Coffee Chamber, no new investigation has been carried out. On the website of the trade union entity, you can also consult various reports on the properties of coffee.