Coffee Drinkers Rejoice: Java is Now Good for Your Health

We have been cultured to believe that drinking coffee is a bad habit. And that sipping tea is the healthy way to go…think how herbal tea is labeled: antiinflammatory, immune-boosting, calming. However, there is a large body of powerful research that supports imbibing in a different kind of brew. Coffee drinkers rejoice: java is now good for your health.

A Guilty Habit?

Many of us agree: coffee is delicious. And I like it strong and black, thick enough to stand a spoon in. A couple of mugs every morning, and I feel my day is off to a good start. Coffee is a ritual. That warm, steamy mug is integral to my hygge, as much as a wool blanket and a good, thick book.

So when I was in hospital recently, among the many life disruptions that caused, I missed my morning habit. Yes, there was coffee available, but it was the bad hospital kind. (Rest assured, Yankees, hospital floor coffee is as bad in New Zealand as it is in the U.S.) Given I was tethered to a monitor, I couldn’t sneak off to PeaBerry for a real coffee without alarms going off, so I settled for tea.

And three days later, I got a headache. And one the next day, too. It didn’t occur to me until later that I was going through caffeine withdrawal.

And with that realization came a little bit of shame. Withdrawal. Like an addict.

No wonder coffee gets a bad rap.

Until now.

Coffee (kaw-fee, kof-ee) n.
a liquid substance served hot, used to alter moods and lift spirits. Also used as a substitute for actually waking up. best had on any day that ends with y.

~author unknown

The power of coffee, beyond (and including!) caffeine.

Coffee has some interesting powerhouse ingredients that may surprise you:

1. Polyphenols–plant-based anti-inflammatories and anti-oxidants that are, good news, present in both caffeinated and decaffeinated varieties
2. Riboflavin (vitamin B2)–a co-enzyme that assists with energy production, metabolism and cell-building. Animal studies have demonstrated that low levels of this vitamin can increase the risk of certain cancers and heart and brain diseases.
3. Magnesium (Mg)–a mineral that wears many hats. Mg assists in blood sugar and blood pressure control, in building proteins, and with muscle and nerve functions.

And last but certainly not least, caffeine: the perennial Bad Boy we can’t help but love. Caffeine wakes us up. Gives us energy.

And makes us more productive and approachable…

Well, maybe.

It does, however, share qualities with a number of medications like theophylline, used to treat asthma by opening up the airways. So beyond putting some spring in our morning step, caffeine does have some beneficial medical properties. (Read on to find out more.)

In a nutshell.

“The overall evidence has been pretty convincing that coffee has been more healthful than harmful in terms of health outcomes…For most people, moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy diet.” 

~Frank Hu, chair of the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, in an April 5, 2021, article in Discover.

Hu goes on to say that “moderate” coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of a myriad of illnesses:

1. heart disease
2. liver and endometrial cancer
3. type two diabetes
4. depression
5. Parkinson’s disease, and believe it or not,
6. Coffee may also decrease the risk of early death.

Hey, Ladies! Not only does research suggest coffee reduces your risk of heart disease and stroke, one study of over 83,000 women supported this finding and found that caffeinated tea and soda do not reduce this same risk.

How much coffee is considered to be a moderate amount?

Well, it depends. According to Hu, a moderate amount of coffee is 2-5 cups a day.

But how much coffee is a cup of coffee? Well, one study I read about used 4.5 ounces (133 ml) in their definition of “a cup.” Other sources I sought defined “a cup” as 6 ounces (177 ml), others stuck to 8 ounces (237 ml). Still, others were more fluid in their definition and stated a cup of coffee to be “4 to 8 ounces” of brew. However, according to clearlycoffee.com, medical professionals prefer to define a cup of coffee as 6 ounces. Which makes that “moderate amount of coffee” between 12 and 30 ounces of brew a day.

Two 8-ounce cups of joe fills the health bill.

The research sounds compelling. But should I drink that much coffee every day?

Well, again, it depends.

~If you feel jittery or anxious when you sip a cuppa, you’re drinking too much, no matter how much that is. It’s better to back off your caffeine consumption. Or switch to decaf. Remember, the unleaded variety still packs all that plant-derived goodness that is beneficial in many ways.

~If you have high blood pressure, caffeinated beverages may not be for you. Talk to your healthcare provider.

***You may feel the above symptoms with certain brews or roasts, too. Fun, little-known fact: lighter roasts have a little more caffeine than darker roasts.***

~If you are pregnant, talk to your healthcare provider regarding coffee intake (and herbal tea consumption, too, for that matter). A generally-accepted limit is less than 200 mg of daily caffeine, as caffeine increases the risk of low birth weight and miscarriage. And if you are a nursing mother, limiting caffeine intake is recommended as well (again, talk with your healthcare provider).

~Also, and importantly, the coffee discussed in the research refers to the straight-up, unadorned full-on black variety. Dressing up our favorite brew with cream, sugar, whip, and other additions not only adds empty calories but can also negate the benefits of good old-fashioned coffee. Use these sparingly.

Unfiltered coffee: unbecoming or unfairly treated?

The swill-est of the morning swill. For some, it is the best and only way to drink their am brew.

If you are one of those people, you aren’t going to like what comes next. (But there’s a huge BUT that follows, so hang in there…)

Unfiltered coffee contains substances called diterpenes (cafestol and kahweol) that paper (not metal) coffee filters otherwise remove. Two studies have shown that these diterpenes may increase the risk of heart disease. And Eric Rimm, MD and epidemiologist at Harvard has gone on-record as stating that unfiltered (coffee press or Turkish-brewed) coffee may raise LDL (bad) cholesterol.

But wait. There’s more.

You have to drink a crapload of unfiltered coffee (5 to 8 cups worth) to shoulder that risk. This amount exceeds that “moderate” amount of coffee (2 to 5 cups) recommended to garner the health benefits of coffee consumption.

Also, that huge tankard of unfiltered coffee may raise LDL by only 7 mg/dl. Not seven mg each day or even with every week or every month, of large consumption, but 7 mg/dl overall. That is not a large increase in LDL, unless you struggle with elevated LDL to begin with.*

And, the benefits of those plant-based polyphenols, caffeine, riboflavin and magnesium may very well negate some of the negative potential of diterpenes.

Some food for thought.

*As always, discuss with your healthcare provider if you have concerns regarding your lipid profile.

Unconvinced? Read on for what studies have found regarding coffee consumption.

1. Mortality. After following 200,000+ participants over three decades, a study found a 15 percent decrease in all-cause mortality with daily coffee consumption.
2. Heart Disease. Numerous studies have shown a lower risk of both heart disease and stroke with coffee drinking.
3. Type II Diabetes. Polyphenols and magnesium in coffee may improve glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity, therefore decreasing the risk of DM II. Also, a study of 45,000 people conducted over 20 years showed that a single cup of coffee resulted in an eight percent decreased risk, while six cups showed a 33 percent decrease. Caffeinated coffee had only slightly better results than decaf.
4. Depression. Risk may be lower in coffee drinkers. This author wonders whether the social aspect of “having coffee” with family or friends may contribute. I didn’t find a study that looked at this.
5. Gallstones. Caffeinated coffee may reduce the risk of developing gallstones. How? Caffeine may interfere with cholesterol accumulating in the gall bladder.
6. Parkinson’s. Again, caffeine. This stimulant may guard and protect the cells that make dopamine, the neurotransmitter that is deficient in Parkinson’s patients.
7. Alzheimer’s. Studies regarding coffee’s impact on this neurodegenerative disease are not as strong as with Parkinson’s; however, they suggest that caffeine in coffee may reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s.
8. Colon cancer. Coffee increases bile acid production in the liver, and these acids in turn facilitate digestion and lower the exposure of the colonic lining to carcinogens.

Crave more details? Check out the sources for this article:

9 Reasons Why (the Right Amount of) Coffee is Good for You (hopkinsmedicine.org)

Is Coffee Good For You? (gaplesinstitute.org, an M.D.-led educational nonprofit)

Is coffee good or bad for your health? (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Is it Dangerous to Drink Unfiltered Coffee? (coffeeaffection.com)

Study Links Unfiltered Coffee to Health Problems (bartalks.net)

The Nutrition Source (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)

Why is a Cup of Coffee 6 Ounces Instead of 8 Ounces? (clearlycoffee.com)