Coffee | A Cup a Day…
“A morning without coffee is like sleep”
If you’re like me, the start of your days are often jump started with that beverage we call coffee. This is because of the known stimulant properties of caffeine, which is a commonly recognized component to the drink. And it was because of this caffeine that we were told for years that coffee is unhealthy to drink. But over the years evidence has come out to support the notion that not only is coffee not harmful to our health, but in fact it may actually promote good health.
The energizing aspect of wild coffee is thought to have been first discovered in Africa and its later cultivation became custom in the Arab world. However, it wasn’t long before the rest of the world caught on and it has since grown to become one of the most consumed beverages across the globe.
The 18th-century French philosopher and writer Voltaire was reputed to drink upwards of 50 cups of coffee daily and lived to the age of 83. Johann Sebastian Bach wrote an actual entire musical composition called the Coffee Cantata to celebrate its virtues, and Beethoven was reported to count out 60 coffee beans for each cup he brewed. Though this may speak to its stimulating qualities and advantages towards productivity, what of its actual health or medical benefits beyond that?
We known that caffeine is effective in helping alleviate acute headaches and in fact many prescriptive medications combine caffeine with other ingredients, however coffees medical benefits go beyond caffeine itself. Coffee is also a rich source of antioxidants and other bioactive compounds which extends its benefits into other areas as well.
In a 14-year study of over 400,000 AARP members that was conducted by the National Cancer Institute, and which was published one year ago in the New England Journal of Medicine, data showed that the more coffee a person drank the lower their mortality risk, upwards of 16% reduction. Other medical studies have linked coffee consumption with a reduction in risk for certain cancers such as breast, liver and prostate, as well as reducing risk of stroke and dementia as we age too.
This isn’t to say that everyone should go out and start drinking coffee as there can be some risk associated with over consumption of the beverage, as with any stimulant too much of a good thing can be a bad thing. And there is the known association of headaches with caffeine withdrawal. But it is, at a minimum, safe to say that there is no associated risk of harm from drinking coffee and doing so can potentially provide additional benefit to our health.
Perhaps this is what humorist Dave Barry was suggesting when he said:
“It is inhumane, in my opinion, to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity.”
Dr. Andrew Dale
