Like many adults, I start out my day with a hefty serving of coffee. I wasn't always a coffee convert. I choked on it in high school; drank it sparingly in college; and wholeheartedly integrated it into my morning routine once I joined the working world.
In general, health experts say coffee is fine in moderation and caution against drinking too much, in order to avoid caffeine addiction and feeling extra-jittery. Coffee is usually lauded as healthier than soda and sugar-loaded juices, especially because it is made mostly of water. I knew it was filled with antioxidants, which protect against harmful molecules called free radicals that find their way into our bodies. But the notion that coffee may actually be healthy was news to me.
An article in US News Health says drinking coffee may help prevent several different health issues. The article says research has shown coffee can decrease the likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes; Parkinson's disease; stroke; Alzheimer's disease; and liver and skin cancer. The article also notes that while coffee may not outwardly reduce chances, the risk of getting bladder, gastric, renal or breast cancer does not rise with coffee consumption.
There are groups of people that should be cautious about their coffee drinking, including pregnant women and those who are extra sensitive to its effects, according to the article. Those who are not used to drinking coffee may experience quick increases in blood pressure or higher risk for heart attack, although the latter notion has yet to be proven. Once coffee drinking becomes a habit, however, blood pressure levels off, and the risk for heart attack decreases, the article says.
The article quotes Rob M. van Dam, an assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, and other experts as saying the health benefits of coffee could derive from the high antioxidant and fiber content. In addition, van Dam notes that coffee's benefits may not have been prominent in the past because it was hard to disentangle the health consequences of smoking and drinking coffee, since the two activities go hand-in-hand for many people.
Van Dam has been involved in studies about the effects of coffee consumption on health issues. A study published in the research journal Annals of Internal Medicine in 2008 showed coffee intake was not associated with increased risk of mortality in men or women, after adjusting for age, smoking and risk factors for cardiovascular diseases and cancer.
A study in the research journal Circulation tracked coffee consumption in women from 1980 to 2004, and found drinking coffee did not increase risk for stroke, and even may have decreased the risk. Van Dam also wrote a research review in 2008 saying studies that found associations between coffee drinking and increased risk for coronary heart disease and some types of cancer were not supported by more recent research.
These potential plusses for drinking coffee aren't license to start significantly upping your fix each day. Caffeine addiction, and the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal that go along with it, is still a very real possibility. Excessive caffeine can cause people to feel restless and anxious, and have difficulty sleeping, according to the National Institutes of Health. In addition, people can have headaches or strange heart rhythms as withdrawal symptoms. To decrease these side effects, slowly reduce the amount of caffeine consumed each day. If you still want to have, for example, five cups of coffee per day, try mixing caffeinated with decaffeinated coffee.
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