The Truth About Coffee

Being college students, especially with finals coming up, typically means consuming a large amount of coffee. I’m actually drinking a cup of coffee right now as I’m writing this, but growing up I have always heard a variety of things about one of my favorite drinks. As a kid I was told if I drank coffee too early it could stunt my growth, or that coffee was bad for my health, or even that it was good for me.

shutterstock_125466521

According to Dr. Rob van Dam, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health, coffee may not be as unhealthy as we feared. The Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study investigated the relationship between the amount of coffee consumed and overall mortality. These studies included about 130,000 healthy men and women who were in their mid 40s and 50s. The researchers followed them for 18 to 24 years, tracking their habits, diet, and their coffee intake. The findings concluded that there was no relationship linking coffee consumption and increased risk of death. Whether death by cancer or any other cause, they found no increased risk. Researchers even reported that the people who drank up to 6 cups of coffee a day, were still fine. It seems the reports were well conducted since it was two studies that followed a large amount of people for a long period of time.

This observational studies’ conclusion was negative since they found nothing was going on, but is that good news? I’m curious if the researchers could have also included younger patients such as in their late teens and early twenties to see if there was a difference between the two age groups. The other part of the study that should be noted is that the research is based on coffee that is typically black with a little sugar or cream. This does not include the sugary, high-calorie coffees, such as Frappachinos, that have become incredibly popular over the years especially with younger people. These sugary drinks seem like a possible variable that could lead to increase weight gain overtime. Although this study does not rule out if coffee causes any other health issues, which is a possibility and Dr. Rob van Dam even mentions investigating the possible link between coffee and diabetes. But it does show that coffee does not seem to risk your overall health or increase your risk of death in the long run.

Sources: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/coffee/

http://www.channing.harvard.edu/nhs/

http://thenypost.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/shutterstock_125466521.jpg

 

One thought on “The Truth About Coffee

  1. Carly Drew Gerson

    I thought this was a good blog post topic because of how many people, especially college students, drink coffee every day. The study that you talked about was interesting because I have always heard that coffee is bad for you, so it was interesting to see that the more coffee you drink, does not really have any overall effect. It would be interesting to learn more about the other negative affects of coffee, like if it really does stunt your growth and how it stains your teeth. I found an article that talks more about the negative effects of drinking coffee. http://www.nurturepod.com/uncategorized/coffee-10-shocking-reasons-why-its-soooo-bad-for-you/

Leave a Reply