As I Am writing this blog I am actually laying down on my sofa feeling a bit sorry for myself because I hardly slept last night. I woke up with really bad indigestion at 2am, 4am then again at 5.30am. By then I had to get up and sit up because I just felt sick so now I am just resting, feeling a bit tired and generally a bit sorry for myself… the joy of being 38 weeks pregnant! This baby business is now just a waiting game and it can cause mums to be all sorts of discomfort. I have just been taking it easy today and I even managed to write my birth plan… what an achievement for me! I haven’t done it up until now because I wanted to complete all my antenatal classes first and yesterday I did. I write for a living but writing a birth plan is something else and quite hard because there is no way of knowing how your birth will go. You can only write down what you wish to happen IF the situation permits. Anyway in my tired state I am very surprised I managed to write the birth plan and I have never wanted a cup of coffee so much in my life. Throughout the entire pregnancy I have not had one cup of tea, let alone coffee. In all honesty I am not a massive tea or coffee drinker anyway but every now and then I do fancy a cup. Today I really needed a coffee by 11am! As I was day dreaming about coffee I came across an article on how coffee is good for our eyesight!
Image from http://www.recantha.co.uk/blog/?p=12207
Yes! Drinking coffee can be good for your eyes but how and why?
Raw coffee beans actually only contain 1% caffeine but contain 7-9% chlorogenic acid (CGA) which is an antioxidant that has been associated with many health benefits, such as weight loss and the reduction of blood pressure. On top of that CGA has also been associated with good recovery/regeneration of the nervous system that can block something called hypoxia. Hypoxia can cause deprivation of oxygen in areas of the body and our retinas are prone to hypoxia. So you see the science behind it all?
Funnily enough our retinas may seem like so tiny in comparison to other parts of our body BUT they actually consume the most oxygen compared to other cells so having something that can block out hypoxia is good news, that is where coffee comes in. Various studies have found CGA can reduce retina cell death and as you all know we can all see the world around us because of our retinas. So basically the CGA we get from coffee can help prevent blindness and maintain our eye health. With that in mind, of course don’t start drinking 10 cups a day because it is best to have everything in moderation. I have also learned from my coffee snob husband (he has his own coffee machine and everything!) that the quality of the bean actually plays an important part too. Instant coffee or even coffee from some large chains is actually rather bad for you because it is usually the cheapest form of coffee and contains FAR too much caffeine. If you use good quality beans and grind them yourself is much purer and contains less caffeine and has a great taste! On that note I must stop talking about coffee because I all of a sudden really want a mocha and I can’t have one yet! Caffeine makes baby go CRAZY in the belly.