Coffee...Good for You?

Coffee…your best friend?

I still remembered when coffee became one of my best friends - second year of university, drinking cup after cup, helping me stay up late nights to study for mid-terms and final exams and thinking why I kept procrastinating. When I was drinking a couple of cups, I remember being told about the possible negative side effects of coffee. Recently, I wanted to know if coffee is the miracle drink God gave us, or just another drink with negative side effects!

Studies show, COFFEE IS AMAZING FOR YOU!!

Most studies I reference talk about moderate coffee consumption, defined as 3-6 cups of coffee a day, most described a cup of coffee as 8oz (or about 250 ml).

Coffee and your heart

Moderate consumption of coffee (3-5 cups) was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. In fact, moderate consumption was associated with a lower risk of CVD compared to no consumption of coffee or excessive consumption (5 or more cups a day).

Coffee and stroke

Moderate consumption of coffee (2-6 cups) was associated with a lower risk of getting a stroke

Coffee and cancer                                                                                                              

Moderate consumption of coffee was associated with 40% lower chance of getting liver cancer. There was no increased risk of prostate or breast cancer associated with coffee consumption. Finally, if you aren’t a smoker, coffee consumption has protective effects and decreases risk of lung cancer.

(Note: there was an increase in lung cancer associated with coffee consumption, but only if you were already a smoker, so STOP smoking!)

Coffee and your liver

As stated above, coffee has a protective effect when it comes to liver cancer, but it is also very good overall for your liver. People who drink coffee are less likely to get liver disease, and if you already have liver disease it is less likely to progress to cirrhosis and if you have cirrhosis, there is a decreased rate of mortality due to liver failure. The effects are so positive that one study even stated that “coffee consumption should be encouraged!”

Coffee and the brain

Coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease, lower overall cognitive decline and also possible protection against Alzeihmers! One thing that was concluded, was the there were no negative effects of coffee consumption.

Coffee and diabetes

Consuming coffee is associated with lower rates of diabetes, here both caffeinated and non-caffeinated coffee proved to be effective! It was shown that more coffee consumed (up until 7 cups a day) was associated with more protection against diabetes.

Finally, coffee and all cause mortality

Studies that have looked at over one million people concluded that “drinking coffee was associated with significantly reduced chance of death”. This should be music to the ears of people who love coffee!

I will end this with the latest recommendation from the USDA. They state that moderate consumption (3-5 cups a day) is not only fine, but actually recommends it for it’s protective properties (as you have read above).

So….DRINK AWAY!

(note: although coffee seems to be amazing for us, keep in mind that the cream and sugar we usually drink it with isn’t and that pregnant woman shouldn’t be consuming this much, it’s recommended to consume a maximum of 2 cups. Similarly, no parent wants their child to drink this much coffee, so don’t let your children drink this much!)