Photo by Salimfadhley, via Wikimedia Commons
Ahh, coffee—my rich, smooth, caffeinated lifeblood—what would I do without you?
For over 13 years, I’ve been a slave to my morning cup (ok, cups) of Joe—French pressed, percolated and pressurized (espresso), roasted, filtered, boiled and even instant, I’ve gulped it all.
But could my java habit be jeopardizing my health?
It’s a question I’ve avoided, terrified of being told to put down the silky sweet Starbucks soy latte that is currently helping me write these very words. But as someone who tries to abide by principles of healthy living, I decided I’d better take a look at the facts.
Apparently, coffee research has evolved quite a bit over the past 10 years. In the past, studies didn’t take into account that other high-risk factors such as smoking and physical inactivity were more common among heavy coffee drinkers at the time.
Today, research is uncovering a myriad of health benefits to coffee consumption, such as preventing certain chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and liver ailments.
Local expert Connie Diekman, director of university nutrition at Washington University, has seen her fair share of coffee consumption on campus.
“When we’re talking about black coffee, there does seem to be some evolving evidence to show that, just like other plants, there are some phytonutrients, which hold a lot of benefits besides just vitamins and minerals,” she says. “It appears coffee falls in that ballpark.”
The important qualifier here is looking at coffee in its purest form, Diekman explains. All too often, coffee gets associated with milky, sugary drinks where excess calories are stirred in and squirted on top.
“Is it good or bad? Well, it can fall into a healthy eating plan, but the question is, are you loading it up with sugar, sprinkles and all that extra stuff?”
When you take away those risk factors, the daily recommended intake of coffee (roughly 2 – 3 cups or 200 – 300 mg. of caffeine), can indeed have a number of health benefits for the average adult.
“Caffeine is a stimulant, so people need to know their tolerance for it,” Diekman added. If one or two cups allows you to have a good, healthful day without sending your blood pressure and heart rate skyrocketing, then coffee can be a safe part of a well-rounded diet.
It takes well over two cups to send my pulse into uncomfortable territory, so what about tolerance?
“Tolerance can happen, but just like anything out there, it’s about balance,” Diekman answered. “Excess of anything is never good, and when you go above the recommended daily limit, you are raising the risk of increased blood pressure, stomach acid production, etc.”
It’s also worth noting that while coffee consumption may be a safe part of a balanced diet, certain people—particularly women who are pregnant and people who have trouble controlling their blood sugar or pressure—should steer clear of caffeine and abstain from coffee or switch to decaf.
But if you’re like me and can tolerate the stimulant effects, nothing says no to incorporating coffee in your daily routine, Diekman assures me. “Unless it’s replacing healthier foods, your body doesn’t agree with it, or it’s incredibly high in calories, nothing is saying coffee can’t be consumed in moderation.
“The research is still evolving,” she adds. “I think we probably shouldn’t look at coffee as a health prompter, but when used appropriately, it’s not going to be harmful,” she adds.
That note about the evolving research struck home when I came across a study published this January in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
According to the research, coffee may help lower the risk for the most dangerous type of skin cancer, malignant melanoma.
Clearly, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the health benefits of coffee. But I’ve overcome my fear of the facts. There’s no frightening evidence out there that coffee, when consumed in moderation, is going to increase risk of death, cancer, or other scary long-term diseases.
Maybe next time I write at Starbucks I’ll go for a flat white instead of a soy latte…
