Are there health benefits to drinking coffee?

[jay gw]

THE British coffee industry launched a campaign today to counter confusion about the benefits of the popular drink.

The British Coffee Association (BCA), which represents coffee manufacturers in the UK, said it wanted to raise awareness of the health benefits of coffee.

It said the majority of people were not aware of the beneficial effects of moderate coffee consumption. These included improved concentration and a high content of antioxidants, which can help reduce the risk of some diseases like cancer.

http://news.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=1839642005

[Neutiquam Erro]

My first impulse is (as always) to respond flippantly:

Of course there are health benefits -- to others! Coffee keeps me from becoming homicidal!

Now that that's out of my system, I'll admit to being puzzled as to the nature of your poll. The article contains but a single testable assertion:
... coffee contains antioxidants which prevent damage caused by free radicals and so may help to reduce the risk of some diseases.
Is my vote to indicate the degree to which I agree or disagree with that statement? How is this statement different from, say, "gasoline contains elements that are also part of a healthy breakfast"?

The only possible response to the survey is Neutral/Maybe, as there is certainly not enough information here on which to make a logically sound judgement.

[Eos of the Eons]

Drinking a moderate amount of coffee, around four to five cups a day, is certainly not bad for you and could, as part of a healthy balanced diet, have health benefits.

Oh really. And did they study the effects on the body in a properly conducted way? What were the controls?

Do these people realize what coffee does to iron and calcium levles in the body? Your iron levles affect how well you get nutrition to you cells via the circulatory system. Low iron levels can increase the incidence of disease. Low calcium levels will increase your chances of heart attack, osteoporosis, etc.

4-5 cups is Moderate??

I think these folks are raving loons or are ignoring the actual risks to drinking that much coffee every day. How many calories are in a cup of coffee?
http://www.cosic.org/coffee-and-health/bone-health

You can reduce the chances of losing calcium when drinking caffeinated drinks by adding 1-2 tablespoons of milk to your 6 oz beverage. But what if you are allergic to milk or lactose intolerant?

1) A cup or two a day can provide a mild psychological boost and relieve minor fatigue, with little risk or harm. 2) Excessive amounts of coffee (four or more cups a day) can cause stomach distress, heartburn, nervousness, and poor sleep at night. 3) Coffee is a diuretic and should be avoided before exercise, particularly in hot weather. 4) People who have high blood pressure, like yourself, or other cardiovascular concerns should be extra cautious about coffee since caffeine raises the heart rate and blood pressure, placing greater workload on the heart- talk to your doctor about this. http://hermes.hhp.ufl.edu/keepingfit/ARTICLE/conflict.HTM

Our findings demonstrate that herb teas, as well as black tea, coffee and coca can be potent inhibitors of Fe absorption.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10999016&dopt=Citation

Know your limits, know your nutritional needs, then limit your coffee intake based on your individual body requirements. I have low blood iron levels. It was recommended that I only have one caffeinated drink a day, and make sure drinking it was at least an hour after I ate so that my body had a chance to absorb some iron.

[advancedatheist]

Long-Term Coffee Consumpton Significantly Reduces Type 2 Diabetes Risk (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/01/040106081416.htm)

[Eos of the Eons]

Coffee May Be Linked To Rheumatoid Arthritis (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2000/07/000727080902.htm)

[advancedatheist]

I'd choose rheumatoid arthritis over type 2 diabetes any day.

[Eos of the Eons]

Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients Have Double The Risk Of Heart Failure (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/02/050204121443.htm)

[rppa]

Final blow against caffeine in my diet: I had three incidents of "ocular migraine" in a short period of time (four months), apparently correlated with heavy caffeine intake. As an ocular migraine involves temporary blindness, this was rather scary, enough for me to finally go decaf completely.

Well, almost completely.

[Mouthfire]

Originally posted by rppa
Final blow against caffeine in my diet: I had three incidents of "ocular migraine" in a short period of time (four months), apparently correlated with heavy caffeine intake. As an ocular migraine involves temporary blindness, this was rather scary, enough for me to finally go decaf completely.

Well, almost completely.

Actually, caffeine is a treatment for migraines, and is included in many prescription migraine medications.

Are you sure you weren't having a caffeine withdrawal? That can trigger migraines. Of course, I have seen patients with migraines triggered by caffeine, but that tends to be an exception rather than the rule.

[Mouthfire]

I've actually looked into this, because I drink a LOT of coffee. I would love to see coffee have a beneficial health effect, but I really haven't seen the evidence for it.

I've also seen sporadic reports of adverse effects, such as pancreatic cancer, with increased caffeine. I haven't a lot of strong evidence for this either.

In any regard, I'll keep drinking my gallon-of-coffee a day until I see evidence otherwise :)

[Eos of the Eons]

Sometimes denial is just so obvious.

[casebro]

Originally posted by Mouthfire
I've actually looked into this, because I drink a LOT of coffee. I would love to see coffee have a beneficial health effect, but I really haven't seen the evidence for it.

I've also seen sporadic reports of adverse effects, such as pancreatic cancer, with increased caffeine. I haven't a lot of strong evidence for this either.

In any regard, I'll keep drinking my gallon-of-coffee a day until I see evidence otherwise :)

Some thoughts on caffeine and health:

Caffeine is a substance that is restricted at the Olympics, 2 cups maximum, because it does something positive to muscle energy.

I have an inherited muscle metabolic problem ("ragged red fibers", mitochondrial disease) in my family. Caffeine seems to help.

One 'soft sign' of my metabolic problem is migraines, another is pancreatitis, both run in my family. In fact, my brother, a teetotaler, died of pancreas cancer at 56. Most pancreas cancer is related to alcoholism. Many alcoholics use caffeine to fix hangovers.

Sooo, is it the caffeine that causes the pancreas cancer, or the underlying metabolic or alcohol problem that a subject takes the coffee for?

Over the last year, I've cut down on coffee from 2 gallons/day to one pot. Lately I've had optical migraines vs past 'classic migraines'... how does that tie to caffeine?

There is a giant study of lifetime habits by Harvard, formerly called "the nurses study" and "the doctors study", now something like "male heatlth care workers", etc. It is following 130,000 of these folks for years and years. This is the study that showed the beneficial aspects of daily aspirin doses. Seems to me that positive or negative links to caffeine would be glaring by now...

[Mouthfire]

No Association Found Between Coffee Consumption and Pancreatic Cancer (http://cancerres.aacrjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/43/8/3900)

Fairly recent article in the American Association of Cancer Reseach's publication

[fishbob]

Why make this a poll?

Any health benefits associated with coffee will not be affected in the least by our opinions about health benefits associated with coffee.

[Soapy Sam]

Well, I drink about three pints a day, except on weekends when it goes up to four or five. I'm still alive. It certainly doesn't have any negative effect that I've noticed.

I said it certainly doesn't have..STOP INTERRUPTING ME!
I said-
Well if you're not going to listen , the heck with you. May you all drink herb tea for eternity. With your pinky out.

And another thing...


To be honest, it takes about six cups a day just to keep me awake. I go off it totally every January- long story- to see if I still can. Never any difficulty. Sleep patterns don't alter or anything. I just have to drink more water to keep my kidneys in orbit.

[rppa]

Originally posted by Mouthfire
Actually, caffeine is a treatment for migraines, and is included in many prescription migraine medications.

Are you sure you weren't having a caffeine withdrawal?

Yes. I'm familiar with that. It's much more of an ordinary headache.

I can only go by what my MD and my opthalmologist told me. The optic nerve symptoms I was experiencing (with no associated pain) are called an "ocular migraine" and caffeine is one of the triggers.

Also, withdrawal wouldn't make sense since I can correlate the migraines with a day of high caffeine intake in a mostly decaffeinated week.

That can trigger migraines.

I've never experienced what I would think of as migraines, which I believe come with debilitating pain. Ocular migraines, according to the eye doctor, are physiologically very similar, just a different nerve involved.