Health Journal

Essay by Kalessa42College, UndergraduateB, May 2009

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Every morning for breakfast, I drink 2 cups of coffee. I have been doing this for many years. In researching information about coffee, I found out that it has its benefits and risk. Your daily cup of coffee may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and more. It also packs a powerful punch of antioxidants. In fact, Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than from any other food or beverage (Gabrick,). Coffee contains caffeine, a mild stimulant to the central nervous system. Caffeine has been shown to decrease muscle pain and augment the pain-relieving capability of other drugs, alleviate asthma symptoms and boost athletic endurance and performance as well as heightening alertness and lifting mood (Decadmus, 2005).

I have taking a lot of beef and pork out of my diet. I am trying to eat a little healthier. Therefore, I started eating more chicken. Chicken is rated as a very good source of protein, providing 67.6%

of the daily value for protein in 4 ounces. Chicken is a very good source of the cancer-protective B vitamin, niacin. Components of DNA require niacin, and a deficiency of niacin (as well as other B-complex vitamins) has been directly linked to genetic (DNA) damage. A four-ounce serving of chicken provides 72.0% of the daily value for niacin.

Chicken is also a good source of the trace mineral, selenium. Selenium is of fundamental importance to human health. It is an essential component of several major metabolic pathways, including thyroid hormone metabolism, antioxidant defense systems, and immune function. Accumulated evidence from prospective studies, intervention trials and studies on animal models of cancer have suggested a strong inverse correlation between selenium intake and cancer incidence (whFoods.com)Several mechanisms have been suggested to explain the cancer-preventive activities of selenium. Selenium has been shown to...