Author: Armin Brott

Categories
Nosh

Here's What Happens When You Drink Coffee In The Morning On An Empty Stomach

As I’ve mentioned here before, I can’t stand coffee. But I’ve seen the research, and whether I choose to partake or not (and I don’t), there are a number of health advantages to drinking coffee. As with most things in life, however, timing is important. Millions of people around the world start their day with a cup of java. But despite its many benefits, drinking coffee (even decaf) on an empty stomach can cause (or aggravate) a number of health problems.
Most of those problems start off in the intestines and digestive tract, but their effects go far beyond the stomach.

Gastrointestinal Issues

There’s hydrochloric acid in our stomachs, which we need to digest our food. But coffee kicks hydrochloric acid production into overdrive, especially when there’s no food in the stomach to cushion the blow. If that happens often enough, the body may gradually lose interest in producing hydrochloric acid on its own. As a result, digestion slows down. Certain bacteria in our guts love to gorge on undigested proteins and other food, and when they do, they gleefully produce hydrogen sulfide (the same stuff that gives rotten eggs their lovely smell), which in turn produces some pretty nasty farts.
But farting is only the beginning. As stomach acids increase, so does the likelihood of developing heartburn, indigestion, and irritation to the intestines. If that goes on for long enough, it can lead to acid reflux, irritable bowel syndrome, and ulcers.
In case you were wondering, caffeine is not the culprit here (other sources of caffeine don’t produce the effects I just mentioned). In fact, studies on the gastrointestinal effects of coffee have found that decaf is actually worse than regular coffee. There are a number of other compounds in coffee—various acids, enzymes, and oils—that can do the real damage.

Nutritional Problems

A study done at Yokohama City University School of Medicine in Japan found that coffee facilitates what’s euphemistically called “gastric emptying,” meaning that it gets food out of your stomach more quickly than it would on its own. When food doesn’t spend as much time in your intestines as it should, vitamins and minerals don’t get absorbed properly, possibly leaving us with nutritional deficiencies. Again, it’s not just the caffeine; decaf is at least as bad.
There is one area, however, where caffeine plays a role. It speeds up the process of getting liquids out of the body by flushing them through the kidneys, causing frequent trips to the bathroom. That doesn’t give the kidneys enough time to absorb calcium, magnesium, zinc, or other important minerals. Magnesium is especially a problem, because according to some estimates, only 20 to 25 percent of Americans are getting anywhere near enough of it. Magnesium deficiency has been clinically associated with a wide variety of negative health conditions, including anxiety and depression (more on that below), asthma, blood clots, heart disease, high blood pressure, kidney disease, chronic fatigue, chronic pain, migraines, infertility, osteoporosis, and even tooth decay.

Anxiety and Depression

People who “need” their coffee first thing in the morning are drinking up because they want the jolt of caffeine. But caffeine also increases anxiety and depression in a number of ways.

  • It can boost levels of the stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine, and norepinephrine.
  • It interrupts the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that’s associated with senses of calm and well-being. Some of the most popular antidepressants (Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft, and others) are selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which work by keeping serotonin levels in the brain high.
  • It messes with levels of another important chemical, gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which is associated with calming and lowered stress levels.
  • It accelerates secretion of B vitamins and interferes with absorption of what’s left. B vitamins are extremely important for mood regulation, relaxation, and stress management.

Bottom line

If you need something to get you going first thing in the morning, consider something other than coffee—especially if you have a history of any stomach or gastrointestinal problems.

Categories
Wellbeing

Quick And Simple Ways To Rapidly Heal Wounds

Every year, millions of Americans suffer skin-breaking wounds that are serious enough to require medical care from falls, accidents, or deliberate attacks. And millions more have wounds that are caused by surgery. Many heal just fine on their own, but not all do.
For thousands of years, humans have sought out new and horrific ways to injure and maim each other. And for thousands of years, we’ve also sought out ways to heal our wounds. The ways we try to kill each other—wars, terrorism, and mass casualty attacks—have remained pretty consistent over the years. But new technologies in wound care are enabling us to reduce infection and greatly speed up the healing process.
Here are just a few of the latest innovations (some of which are new twists on ancient techniques):

Crab Shells

Researchers from Britain’s University of Bolton recently developed a fabric called alchite, which is derived from algae and chitosan, which is a mineral in crab shells. Chitosan has well-known anti-microbial properties that speed up wound healing. The university has a patent on alchite bandages, and expects to make hundreds of thousands of dollars in royalties.
Chitosan also has the remarkable ability to help blood clot more quickly and even reduces pain. Other bandages incorporating chitosan have been successfully used by the U.S. Marine Corps and a number of local emergency medical departments to treat severe, heavily bleeding wounds.

Wet or Dry

There’s been a lot of debate over the years about whether wounds heal better if they’re dry (after being cleaned and any bleeding has been taken care of) or wet. Today, the pendulum seems to have stopped swinging squarely in the wet wound camp. In one major study, Johan Junker and his colleagues at Brigham and Women’s College compared wet, moist, and dry wound care techniques and found that wet or moist treatments allowed for “precise delivery of antimicrobial agents and analgesics” to the wound. They also greatly reduced inflammation, scarring, and healing time (wet wounds in the study healed in six days, moist ones in seven, and dry ones in eight).
Among the most successful wet/moist wound treatments? Good, old fashioned petroleum jelly (Vaseline) and honey. Several studies have shown that honey’s natural anti-microbial properties make it a viable, natural alternative to antibiotics. When the sugar in honey comes into contact with the sodium that’s on our skin, it breaks down into hydrogen peroxide, which kills all sorts of nasty bugs and pathogens.

BioWeld1

An innovative Israeli company called IonMed developed a device uses plasma gas to seal surgical incisions in a way that controls bleeding, enhances tissue repair, and minimizes (or eliminates) scarring. Because BioWeld1 eliminates the need for stitches and staples, it may be especially popular for plastic surgery and cesarean sections.