Is Coffee Bad For You - Learn the Pros and Cons

As a morning coffee drinker myself, I think it has been long overdue for me to explore the somewhat controversial question of: Is coffee bad for you?

It seems that every week we hear something different about the health benefits of coffee or, more specifically, caffeine. We’ve been told everything from caffeine is bad for pregnant women, “don’t drink it!” to caffeine improves your memory, “drink up!” So what’s the truth? Is coffee bad for you, is caffeine bad for you? And what about tea? Is tea bad for you, too?

Before we attempt to answer that question, let’s first look at just what coffee is (1). Coffee is prepared by brewing the ground, roasted seeds of the coffee plant (“coffee beans (2)”). Coffee trees are grown and are cultivated in over 70 different countries around the world, including Brazil, Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Ethiopia. The stimulant effects of coffee are due to its caffeine content (3). Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system (4), the part of our brain that receives and processes information and coordinates our activity, and therefore it combats fatigue and produces renewed alertness. So, is there such a thing as too much stimulation? According to the Mayo Clinic (6), the answer to that question is, “yes.”

Too much caffeine can interfere with our regular sleep patterns and prevent us from getting the 7-8 hours of sleep that are required for the average adult. Additionally, anyone who is taking certain prescription medications needs to be careful about their caffeine intake. Some antibiotics, such as ciprofloxacin and norfloxacin, interact with caffeine and increase its stimulant effects on the body. In addition, if you regularly take echinacea supplements or supplements containing echinacea, you should limit your caffeine intake. Echinacea increases the caffeine content in your blood and can, therefore, increase the negative side effects (5) than can be associated with caffeine. Some of those side effects include dizziness, irritability, nausea, shakiness, nervousness and insomnia. Any college student who has used NoDoz when cramming for finals can tell you that being overstimulated on too much caffeine is not a pleasant experience.

Now that we know the harmful effects of consuming too much caffeine, what about the positive effects of caffeine? Many of us are amongst the tens of millions of people who drink coffee daily and would love nothing more than to hear that coffee is good for you. Well, the good news is that coffee does, in fact, have positive health benefits. One problem with older studies about the risks of coffee is that the amount of coffee drinkers that were also smokers made it such that the negative health problems that were being reported were being wrongly linked to caffeine instead of cigarette smoking. Also, coffee has components aside from caffeine that have positive health benefits.

Coffee, much like teas including green tea, contains fiber and antioxidants. These are very beneficial for disease prevention and recent studies indicate that coffee can help reduce the risks of Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer and type 2 diabetes, decrease stroke risk and help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. As for the caffeine in coffee, in moderate amounts it can increase mood and energy levels without producing unwanted side effects. According to the Mayo Clinic, two to four cups of brewed coffee daily presents no health risks. Still, pregnant women should be aware of studies linking caffeine to lower birth weight (7) and an increased risk of miscarriages. The bottom line is moderation. You can get your daily coffee fix without sacrificing your health as long as you practice moderation.