Is my love of coffee blinding me to the truth?

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Good News About Coffee

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By Joyce Hendley, EatingWell.com

Coffee lovers may be raising their cups—and perhaps eyebrows—at the recent news (in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry) that the drink contains soluble fiber, the type that can help lower cholesterol. With about 1 gram per cup, coffee's fiber impact is modest. But the report is the latest in a growing stream of positive news about coffee.



Some of the most promising findings come from studies of diabetes. When Harvard researchers combined data from nine studies involving more than 193,000 people, they found that regular coffee drinkers had a significantly lower risk of type 2 diabetes than those who abstained. The more they drank, the lower their risk.

And, despite coffee's reputation for being bad for the heart, recent epidemiologic studies haven't found a connection; some even suggest coffee can be protective. A study in February's American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported that healthy people 65 and over who drank four or more cups of caffeinated beverages daily (primarily coffee) had a 53 percent lower risk of heart disease than non-coffee-drinkers.

It's even more beguiling when you consider that the immediate effects of drinking coffee tend to go in the opposite direction, raising heart rate and blood pressure and temporarily making cells more resistant to insulin. "But those effects are probably short-lived, as people develop a tolerance," explains Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, who has studied coffee extensively. "In the long term, beneficial components in coffee may have stronger, more lasting effects."

How coffee might work isn't clear; the studies weren't designed to identify cause-and-effect relationships. Antioxidants, such as chlorogenic acid (related to polyphenols in grapes), are likely players: coffee has more of them per serving than blueberries do, making it the top source of antioxidants in our diets. Antioxidants help quell inflammation, which might explain coffee's effect in inflammation-related diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Magnesium in coffee might help make cells more sensitive to insulin. And caffeine seems to have its own beneficial effects; the diabetes studies found that those who drank regular coffee had lower risks of the disease than decaf drinkers. Caffeinated-coffee drinking has also been linked with reduced risk of Parkinson's disease, gallstones, cirrhosis and liver cancer.

Bottom Line: For healthy adults, having two or three cups of joe daily generally isn't harmful and it may have health perks.

"I wouldn't recommend drinking coffee to prevent disease," says Hu. Exceeding one's caffeine tolerance—which varies—can cause irritability, headache and insomnia. (Signs you might be overconsuming: Yelling at co-workers. Watching infomercials at 2 a.m.) The temporary rise in heart rate and blood pressure could cause problems for people with heart disease, and new moms should be aware that caffeine passes into breast milk. Hu has no plans to change his own two-cup-a-day habit. "For most people who enjoy coffee, there's no reason to cut back."



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A cup of confusion: Is coffee healthy or not?
New studies suggest java helps protect against major diseases


By Karen Collins, R.D.
Special to MSNBC.com
Updated: 9:37 p.m. ET Jan 17, 2007

Karen Collins, R.D.

Considering all the past concern about possible health risks from drinking coffee, newer reports of coffee’s possible protective effects may leave many people confused.

Overall, recent studies suggest that coffee (regular and decaffeinated) may offer a variety of health benefits against diseases such as cancer and diabetes. However, coffee may not deserve a place in the same category with other healthful foods like vegetables, fruits and whole grains.

Laboratory studies suggest that the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant compounds in coffee could help reduce risk of cancer. Coffee also has a tendency to speed the passage of waste through the digestive tract. Potentially, this may lessen the time that cancer-causing compounds spend in contact with the intestinal tract, which could reduce the risk of colon cancer. Population studies, however, tend to split between coffee intake having no effect on or reducing risk of breast and colon cancer.

Diabetes prevention
The case for coffee’s ability to protect against diabetes is strengthened by several recent studies. In the Iowa Women’s Health Study, more than 28,000 women were followed for 11 years. The women who drank four or more cups of coffee daily were about 20 percent less likely to develop diabetes. That became a 30 to 40 percent drop among those who drank decaf coffee.

A study in Finland linked consumption of three to six cups of coffee per day with a 25 percent lower risk of diabetes. In both studies, benefits were seen after adjusting for other diabetes risks, such as weight, diet, and activity level. Several studies now link moderate coffee consumption with lower risk of Type 2 diabetes. Researchers are working to understand the potential advantage of decaf versus regular coffee and how weight control is involved.

Potential increased risk of high blood pressure and heart disease has been one of the long-standing concerns about coffee. Recent studies confirm that caffeine can raise blood pressure, but this effect is observed with soft drinks, not coffee. Laboratory studies suggest that perhaps coffee’s healthful compounds can counterbalance the blood-pressure raising effects of caffeine.

In the Iowa Women’s Health Study noted above, four to five cups of coffee a day were linked with a 19 percent lower risk of heart-related death. Other studies have found no effect of coffee consumption on heart disease risk. But people should follow their doctor’s advice.

Before you drink a whole pot ...
Coffee does warrant some cautions, however. Both regular and decaf coffee relax the muscle that keeps stomach acids from rising into the throat, so those with heartburn or reflux disease (GERD) are encouraged to avoid or strictly limit coffee. People with trouble sleeping should limit or avoid caffeinated coffee.

Studies now suggest it is unnecessary for pregnant women to completely avoid caffeinated coffee. Until the impact of caffeine is more clearly understood, however, many experts suggest that pregnant women limit their daily caffeine from coffee, soft drinks and other sources to about 300 mg, the equivalent of three cups of regular coffee.

It’s exciting that something as simple as drinking coffee might help lower our risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. However, while brewed coffee (not instant) is a concentrated source of antioxidants, it can’t be a substitute for berries, legumes, nuts, and other fruits and vegetables that provide antioxidants along with a wide range of vitamins, protective compounds and dietary fiber.

Nutrition Notes is provided by the American Institute

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Coffee:
Drug or Not?

Call it "joe" or "java," the question's the same:

Is coffee a drug?



Actually, not. But the morning go-getter and after-dinner picker-upper contains one: caffeine.

Caffeine occurs naturally in the leaves, seeds and fruits of more than 60 plants, including coffee, tea leaves, kola nuts and cocoa beans.

Caffeine narrows blood vessels in the brain and stimulates the cerebral cortex, the brain's outer sheath. This helps you think more rapidly and clearly. Elsewhere in the body, blood vessels expand. Coordination improves.

Caffeine is used medically as a mild stimulant or headache-killer. Caffeine citrate helps in treating sleeping problems in newborns.

In healthy people, moderate amounts of caffeine have little effect on blood pressure or heart rate. Bigger doses can cause agitation and ringing in the ears, muscle tremors and irregular heartbeat. If you quit coffee cold, you may experience headache, nervousness, anxiety dizziness and irritability.

Remember, though, coffee isn't a drug. It's not primarily used to cure, relieve or prevent illness.

Even so, if you think early morning fatigue is a disease, nobody's going to stop you from taking your medicine!

"Coffee: Drug or Not?" was adapted from a commentary originally produced for Medicine Chest, a radio program produced by the Higuchi Biosciences Center and the Drug Information Center at the University of Kansas. Medicine Chest airs weekly on eight Kansas radio stations.

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Seems like the answer may be:

Everything in Moderation!

This may be a little too much.