According to Nicholas Bakalar writing in "Coffee Tied to Lower Risk of Dying Prematurely," a large study has shown that although the benefits do not exist for cigarette smokers, regularly drinking more than one cup of coffee a day significantly reduces the risk of death from heart and other diseases (2015).
When I was growing up, parents, including mine, were sure that tea was OK for kids, but that coffee was harmful. Over the last few decades, the evidence has mounted that this popular believe was wrong. In fact, if you want to get your kids hooked on a drug, coffee is probably the better choice.
Of course, there are problems with being addicted: if I don't get my daily hit of the drug, I start getting a headache which increases in intensity until I get some coffee into my system. I guess I've been dependent on coffee for about four decades now - I started drinking it in high school, and that only increased during my university days.
Happily, coffee is the only drug I'm addicted to, and the benefits greatly outweigh the minor inconvenience of physical dependence. There are much worse drugs to be addicted to, but perhaps the people who use those drugs also think that the benefits outweigh the problems. I'm not sure I agree, In the case of alcohol, the harms done to the drug user and others seem to me to make this a particularly harmful drug for society, much worse than many illegal drugs, which suggests that drugs laws are at least irrational, and likely also unjust.
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This is good news ever. I'm heavily dependent on caffeine too. Without it, I cannot start a day, losing attention, nervous, and of course headache. I have tried to reduce taking it, but the withdrawal effects are so irresistible. I usually have 2-3 cup of coffee a day including holidays and probably continue with this amount after reading this blog.
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ReplyDeleteAfter I had heard from Peter that coffee can reduce the risk of some diseases, I started drinking a cup of coffee in the morning. But black coffee is too bitter to drink, I need to add some sugar and milk.
ReplyDeleteI wish I could drink coffee. I like the smell, but every time I drink it, I'll get a headache the whole day.
ReplyDeleteI can drink only hot coffee but I have problems with iced coffee. It makes me feel dizzy and want to throw up if I drink it even only half of a cup.
DeleteI'm sure that tea is also good for blogging. Or plain water. I guess even wine is OK, but I wouldn't recommend too much of that drug.
DeleteThat's very common the caffeine-induced headache. You don't need to suffer yourself. Maybe the benefit of coffee in the news Peter refer to is not that strong scientific evidence.
DeleteI agree with Union that we should not only insist on evidence being presented when claims are made about anything, but we should want to verify that evidence. The study cited, and others, have been done with large groups and do seem solid, but that's not a good reason not to do more research.
DeleteESP is real? Prove it! 100% of French citizens support their president? Show us the proof. The god Odin lives in Valhalla? Present some solid evidence. (I'm 100% certain that all of these claims are false, as are most similar ones that are made for financial or other benefit to the people making them.) Based on the evidence to date, I have strong confidence in the claim that coffee is health giving as well as wonderfully invigorating for users.
The sad thing is I love both coffee and tea, but one would give me a headache while another will give me an insomnia. Looking at the bright side, I can save more money this way because both of them are getting more expensive.
DeletePeter maybe diagnosed as caffeine-dependent according to DSM 5, the latest diagnostic manual of APA. I think it's OK to drink a cup of coffee everyday, but for the better choice it should be black coffee, espresso or americano, not the latte with whipping cream one. The sugar and fat may do harm than the benefit of the coffee. Enjoy your coffee :)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely. Never mess up your coffee by adding sugar or strange things to it. Some rich cream to give your body essential fats is OK, but nothing else. (OK, I'm showing a couple of personal biases here.)
DeleteI wonder how much the amount of caffeine intake that starts to do harm body because I regularly drink 2-3 cups of coffee a day and sometimes think it may have more cons than pro with this much. 3 cups a day, my hands are quite shaky, is that normal?
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