May 12, 2017

Coffee - general information

Coffee and health

I mentioned "giving up coffee" in the context of healthy diet to a friend who is an MD.
He replied as follows:
Nobody who knows the literature will ask you to give up coffee. Cognitive function improves with lifetime coffee consumption and coffee up to 3-4 cups daily decreases your risk of heart attack, stroke and cardiovascular death (but intake over 5 cups seems to increase risk).
He went on to say:
Two cups of coffee daily reduces mortality rate by 50% in chronic liver disease as well. And not just a caffeine effect, though coffee is more beneficial than decaf; antioxidant effects and increased sensitivity to circulating insulin to reduce blood sugar are partially responsible. The poster child for the benefits of coffee consumption was Voltaire, who died in 1778 at age 83 after consuming 50-72 cups of coffee daily!
I don't drink coffee for health reasons though, I drink coffee because I enjoy it. But the next time someone tells you to give up coffee, ask them why and/or tell them to take a hike.


Have any comments? Questions? Drop me a line!

Tom's coffee pages / tom@mmto.org