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Coffee: Good or Bad?

I’m not a coffee drinker and I can’t say I’d like to be – probably because I’m big on sweets and I would pour more sugar than recommended in my coffee. However, my physician told me that I should drink a cup of coffee a day.

That’s because my blood pressure is quite low and coffee would help me keep it steady. This made me think about whether coffee is good or bad for us.

First, let’s see the pros for drinking coffee:

• studies show that coffee provides protection against head and neck cancer; it seems that people who drink four or more cups of coffee a day are less exposed to these types of cancer;
• drinking coffee (and tea as well) reduces the risk of diabetes; in this case, decaffeinated coffee has the same effect as regular coffee;
• coffee also contains nutrients, such as calcium, as well as antioxidants and polyphenols (of which we’ve already talked about); it is due to these polyphenols that coffee consumption is associated to lower rates of liver cancer;
• women who drink boiled coffee at least four times a day are less likely to develop breast cancer than those who do not; boiling coffee, rather than filtering it, preserves its fatty acids which protect us against cancer;
• a recent Dutch study invalidates the common belief that coffee is bad for our heart; in fact, it appears that moderate coffee consumption decreases the risk of heart disease, showed researchers from the University Medical Center in Utrecht;
• coffee given to shift workers keeps them alert and helps them make fewer errors due to sleepiness; the study, conducted by scientists from Cochrane, showed that caffeine was better at keeping workers awake and vigilant than taking naps or other placebos.

Now, the downside of coffee:

• coffee has been associated with increasing risk of acid reflux, heartburn and ulcer; these affect millions of people worldwide and might be prevented by reducing coffee intake;
• due to the fact that coffee negatively influences the absorption of calcium in our bodies, physicians are concerned that it consequently reduces bone strength; this leads, on the long term, to osteoporosis, a disease that causes increased risk of fractures;
• the high caffeine content of this drink also leads to addiction; for people trying to cut down on coffee or removing it altogether from their daily diet, this addiction might cause health issues, such as headaches, tiredness, decreased energy and depressed mood.

These are just a few of the pros and cons relating to coffee and caffeine. The debate is still alive and I think it will be a while before we have a clear winner. However, remember this: if you do decide to drink coffee, try it black, without sugar, cream, milk or other additions. Black coffee has no calories, but, if you add any of the above to it, calories add as well.

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Filed under: Nutrition by Slim

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