Controversial health effects of coffee

Over time people take a cup of Joe to start their day. Though having your favorite coffee cup in the morning won’t cost you much. However, this might affect your health. Since the health effects of coffee are quite controversial, making people confused is whether coffee is good or bad?

Regardless of the positive stuff you heard about coffee, you cannot neglect the fact that coffee can also be dangerous. So what is the effect of coffee in real?  Is coffee good for you? Or is coffee bad for you? Hence, today we will talk about the controversies of the coffee regarding health.

Typically a coffee contains a high amount of antioxidants linked with your health to reduce the risk of many diseases. However, this coffee cup also includes a large amount of caffeine that is a natural stimulant that can cause problems for some people while disrupting sleep patterns. In this article, we will highlight the details of coffee and the health effects caused by the coffee. Putting light on both effects of coffee good or bad, will help us keep track of our health status.

Health effects of coffee: Where do we stand?

Essential Nutrients and High Antioxidants in Coffee

Undoubtedly, coffee is enriched with numerous nutrients. As coffee is originated from coffee beans, hence makes it a great source of essential nutrients and antioxidants. Furthermore, the coffee contains a small number of minerals and vitamins that can add up based upon the number of cups you drink daily. They also provide a high amount of antioxidants.

Typically an 8-ounce coffee cup contains these following nutrients:

• Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) -11% of the DV
• Vitamin B1 (thiamine): 2% of the DV
• Folate: 1% of the DV
• Manganese: 3% of the DV
• Magnesium: 2% of the DV
• Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid): 6% of the DV
• Vitamin B3 (niacin): 2% of the DV
• Potassium: 3% of the DV
• Phosphorus: 1% of the DV

These values are low and don’t seem a lot, but when you multiply it with the number of coffee cups you intake in a day will add up the significant portion of nutrient in your daily routine.

Moreover, this caffeinated drink is high with the content of antioxidants. The Western diet provides the fact that coffee has more antioxidants than vegetables and fruits.

Is coffee good for you?

Generally, it is assumed that drinking 8-ounce cups of coffee daily can have a good and positive effect on your health. However, the amount of coffee may be varied based on the strength of the brew. Around 83% of the adults in the United States drink at least 3 cups of coffee in a day. However, making people hard to live without drinking their favorite cup of java.

Since coffee is one of the vital sources of providing caffeine, hence this drink helps people to stay active for a longer time. You might also have caffeine in other food and beverages such as tea, chocolates, caffeinated soft drinks and energy drinks, etc. Surprisingly, around 90% of us are consuming caffeine in some form or another every day.

Recently, the research study has observed that coffee is very helpful in preventing diseases such as strokes, lower down the risks of dementia, Parkinson’s, and specific cancer. Additionally, it also helps in improving memory and boosting concentration. As we know, coffee beans are from seeds. And according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the seeds are enriched with a large number of protective compounds.

Benefits of Coffee-Caffeine

Coffee is turning to be a fantastic potent collection that is composed of a biologically active compound. Caffeine is a mild natural stimulant that also contains numerous benefits as caffeine can help you in lowering down the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.

Hence through studies, it has shown that caffeine can protect you in hosting some significant problems. Moreover, with some reviews, we have also observed that caffeine, more specifically, can enhance alertness and improve energy.

Enlist Are Some of The Benefits of Coffee

• A recent study found that coffee can reduce the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Having three cups of caffeine, not decaf daily in your 40s and 50s, can provide high-octane stuff –seems to reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s up to 70% in your 70s. Moreover, it is also found that consuming caffeine will slow down cognitive decline among elderly adults.
• Surprisingly, the coffee can cut down the ratio of suicidal risk. According to a study at Harvard’s School of Public Health, it is found that people who can drink two or three cups of coffee daily can reduce suicide risks to 45%. Moreover, the caffeinated stimulant in coffee can effect in boosting the people’s mood.
• Elderly adults having four or more 8-ounce cups of regular coffee will eventually have half risk of dying due to oral cancer such as upper throat and mouth cancer. Hence, coffee lowers down the risk of oral diseases. Moreover, decaf has weak effects of reducing such risk, and unlike coffee, you don’t find any such protection in tea.
• From some previous studies, it is found that the coffee has lower down the risk of stroke. In the research, it is observed that women who drink coffee daily can lower the risk of stroke up to 20 to 25 percent.

Regardless of the caffeine effects, coffee is mainly considered under the healthy drink category. One can judge the good things about coffee by a preponderance of the research that suggests that coffee can reasonably protect you from a variety of diseases and help you live longer. Moreover, you can relate the associated relationship between these research studies on your health and coffee. However, the room for health benefits and drinking coffee is still under discussion. There is always a need for research required to finalize the final verdict on the association between health and coffee. For instance, there is a need for research where you can determine that coffee drinkers are more social and active than the others or among 1000s of compounds naturally present in the coffee, which combination provides more boost to your energy and health.

However, numerous studies have been performed when it comes to studying caffeine, mainly. People who research caffeine already know the effects. For instance, people are well aware that having a large amount of caffeine can worsen the impact on high blood pressure, osteoporosis, and diabetes. Moreover, caffeine can poorly interact with some conventional medication and can cause worse effects on insomnia, heartburn, and anxiety.

It will always be highly appreciated if the caffeinated products have been appropriately labeled with caffeine content. This practice makes things quite easier for people who are sensitive to caffeine. Hence, they can quickly become aware of the caffeine content when listed on the food labels and calculate the amount of caffeine as per the expert’s recommendations. Hence, experts suggest that having caffeine more than 300 to 400 mg a day can increase health risk. So it is safe to stay moderate and keep a healthy check and balance over daily caffeine intake.

So before you put your hands over the coffeemaker or turn towards grabbing your favorite cup of Grande from the café, you have to keep a few essential things in mind:

Regardless of the past research that highlighted the side effects and dark side of drinking coffee, the new study has put so many ethical aspects that can explain the potential health benefits of coffee.

As per the latest study, the researchers have adjusted a few more factors to create a possible association between decreased mortality and coffee. Hence, coffee might off protection against:

• Type 2 diabetes
• Parkinson’s disease
• stroke and Heart attack
• Liver disease, including liver cancer

Besides having the health effects of caffeine, one cannot deny the side effects and potential risk of coffee. The high risk of coffee is due to the high amount of caffeinated content. For instance, after having a cup of coffee you suddenly have a high rise in blood pressure. There is a need to be cautious regarding caffeine for pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. As drinking a high boiled, unfiltered coffee can directly associate with the mild increase of cholesterol level.

Hence, the bottom line, if you have a fine and moderate habit of consuming coffee then you can enjoy the healthy benefits of coffee. However, if you expose any side effects from drinking coffee such as insomnia, nervousness, or heartburn, it’s better to cut down the coffee habit.

How Coffee Enhances Brain Function And Boosts Metabolism

• Everyone is well aware of that coffee contains caffeine. And caffeine is a natural stimulant that will enhance the function of the brain and boost metabolism.
• Globally, caffeine is commonly renowned as a psychoactive substance. Most of the food items and beverages such as soft drinks, chocolates, and tea all contain caffeine. However, the biggest and most common source of caffeine is coffee.
• Typically, the caffeinated content in a single cup of coffee ranges from 30 mg to 300 mg. However, there is around 90 mg to 100 mg of caffeine content in the average cup.
• Since caffeine is a stimulant, it can also block the brain’s function termed as an inhibitory neurotransmitter or brain hormone (adenosine).
• It is hence blocking the functionality of adenosine by caffeine. It increases the activity of the brain while releasing the other neurotransmitters, such as norepinephrine and dopamine. This way, it reduces the tiredness and will make you feel more active and alert.
• According to numerous studies, it is demonstrated that caffeine can eventually lead to boost a brain function (short-term) while improving the mood, vigilance, reaction time, and general cognitive function.
• It is stated that caffeine can improve and boost metabolism by 3 to 11%, furthermore, on an average of 11% to 12% improvisation of the exercise performance.

Though the effects of caffeine on the brain are quite short-term, hence, if you drink the coffee daily, then you might build a level of tolerance. So the main active compound in the coffee is caffeine called a stimulant. With this stimulant, one can cause short term energy boost level, metabolic rate, brain function, and exercise performance.

How coffee can protect the brain from Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s

• Alzheimer’s disease is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases around the globe. This disease then causes dementia.
• Most studies have shown that coffee drinkers can lower the risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease by up to 65%.
• Parkinson’s is termed as the most common neurodegenerative disease as this disease can cause the death of dopamine-generating neurons within the brain.
• Drinking coffee can reduce the risks of Parkinson’s disease by up to 32% to 60%. So, drinking more coffee can lower down the risk more, especially during the old age times.

How coffee can lower down the risk of Type 2 Diabetes

• Due to resistance, the effects of insulin, type 2 diabetes has been characterized while elevating the blood sugar level.
• The most common disease has been increased tenfold in a few decades, affecting over 300 million people.
• Surprisingly from the studies, it has been shown that drinking coffee might reduce the risk of developing the condition to 23% to 67%.
• From another review study, it has been observed that people with associated daily coffee cups can reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes to 7%.

How Coffee Can Low Down Liver Diseases

• The liver is incredible, yet the most crucial organ that performs numerous different functions in the body.
• The liver is quite sensitive that excess to fructose and alcohol intake.
• Cirrhosis is the end stage of liver damage. Also, it involves most of your liver to turn into scar tissues.
• Since the people who drink coffee can lower the risk of developing cirrhosis, it creates the most potent effects for the individuals who kept on drinking four or more coffee cups per day.
• Though the liver cancer is quite common, moreover, this is the second major leading cause of death due to cancer worldwide. So coffee drinkers can lower the risk of liver cancer up to 40%

How Coffee Can Lower The Risk of Suicide And Depression

• You are familiar with the world’s most common mental disorder, depression. Also, this disorder can even lead to reduce the quality of life significantly.
• In one Harvard study, it is found that people that can drink coffee more often can become less depressed and reduce the depression rate to 20%.
• According to the review of numerous studies, people who drink up to four or more cups of coffee in a day can have up to 53% less chance of committing suicides.

Coffee Drinkers Have High Life Expectancy

• From previous studies, it is observed that coffee drinkers can live longer.
• Coffee drinkers have a low risk of having different common deadly diseases, including suicide. Hence, coffee can help you in improving life expectancy.
• There is long-term research has been conducted previously. And according to the research results, it is observed that many people have lower risks of dying over 12 to 13 years.
• The sweet spot seems that taking 4 to 5 cups a day, with women and men, has reduced the risk of 16% and 12% of death.

One can conclude that according to a few studies, it is demonstrated that the average coffee drinkers can live more than non-coffee drinkers. Hence you can have more strong effects if you drink 4 to 5 cups daily.

Tips To Maximize The Health Benefits of Coffee

• There are some critical aspects that one must consider to maximize the beneficial health effects of drinking coffee.
• Most importantly, do not add any type of extra sugar or sweetness to your drink.
• It is good to brew your coffee with a paper filter as unfiltered coffee such as Turkish or French press might contain Cafesol. The amount of Cafesol can increase the level of cholesterol.
• While hitting any restaurant or coffee café, make sure you sort the coffee drinks with hundreds of calories due to extra additives such as sugar, milk, or cream. These drinks can make your drink unhealthy, and if you consume it regularly, you won’t get any health benefits from your drink.
• Lastly, don’t overdose your coffee intake by drinking an excessive amount of coffee.

What if You Have a Touchy Tummy?

Here are the things you must need to know if you are sensitive to caffeine or have a touchy tummy:

• If you are prone to heartburn, then remember the coffee is not your friend as coffee is very acidic and can be more irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. Even switching to decaf is not the right solution. In fact, according to research, it is found that decaf can also worsen the acidic stomach level. One can make neither switch to brew and roast method when you are sensitive to coffee. The only solution is to avoid coffee.
• Additionally, caffeine is not your good friend category. If you have any type of acid reflux, caffeine is the only culprit that can relax your sphincter muscles as these muscles can keep the stomach acid from bubbling up the esophagus. However, according to one study, it is found that decaf significantly had a low reflux effect.

Drinking coffee and the amount of caffeine intake is totally up to you. However, different people have different reactions to caffeine. You might find people who feel fine even after drinking six cups of coffee in a day. At the same time, the others can switch to decaf or even herbal tea at noon and still be up till the whole night. So if you need to cut down the amount of caffeine consumption, you must do it slowly. This process might require a slow process that can lead up to several weeks. Moreover, while reducing the amount of caffeine and adding the decaf into your regular brew can improve the caffeine. Additionally, keep track of your daily caffeine intake as other products such as sodas, and your favorite chocolate does have caffeine.

Is coffee bad for you?

One must remember that caffeine is a drug. Says Steven Meredith, a behavioral pharmacology researcher at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. You cannot neglect the side effects of having coffee while focusing on the good stuff of coffee on your health. The truth is there are a potentially large number of negative aspects to coffee, which can be varied from one person to another.

Generally, from low to moderate dosage of caffeine is safe. Although the caffeine is quite addictive and the user can become more dependent on it. Also, for some people, it is quite challenging to cut back or even quit the caffeine. Furthermore, currently, caffeine dependency causes a mental disorder. And anyone who is trying to quit this addictive beverage knows it can directly trigger the pounding headache, fatigue, and mental fuzziness for some days till the body gets adjusted with the situation.

Regardless of caffeine addiction, these are the other effects that can be caused due to consuming too much caffeine:

• There is an increase in disruptive sleeping patterns and an increase in anxiety that eventually leads to restless sleep. Also, relying on caffeine during daytime fatigue to stay active can worsen the effects and can cause insomnia.
• The caffeine interacts with some medications. These medicines include thyroid medication, depression drugs, heartburn drug Tagamet, psychiatric and antibiotic Cipro.
• There is an increase in blood sugar levels, making it difficult for type 2 diabetes to handle their insulin level. It can also increase blood pressure. So, if you are having trouble controlling blood pressure or diabetes, then switching back to decaf can help you manage both.
• For the postmenopausal woman, if they consume three cups of coffee or take 300 mg of caffeine daily can potentially lead them to have a loss of some spinal bone as caffeine does not contain any type of calcium. Though as per the recommendation, the older women must take at least 800 mg of calcium daily –through any supplements and foods. This amount of calcium can offset the effects of caffeine on your body.
• As coffee increases the level of your cholesterol, hence, if you are having high cholesterol levels and still want to add coffee in your daily routine, then you must switch to add a paper filter. This filter will trap the cafestol as the cafe’s compound is the compound in the coffee that is responsible for increasing the level of cholesterol.

Caffeine can cause anxiety and disrupt sleep:

• One of the critical side effects of consuming caffeine primarily through drinking coffee is to disrupt sleep. The effects are too high that it can make you more anxious and restless.
• If you consume in no small amount of caffeine, you might find anxiety, jitteriness, and heart palpitation and can even exacerbate the panic attack. Furthermore, if you are sensitive to caffeine, you might be overstimulated and often want to avoid caffeine.
• Hence, if you face such unwanted side effects of sleep, then it is always a good option to quit taking coffee, mainly afternoon or late at night.
• Caffeine can have diuretic and blood pressure raising effects. However, these effects usually dissipate through regular usage. One can still have a slight increase in blood pressure of 1mm/Hg to 2 mm/Hg.

Hence among different side effects of drinking coffee, anxiety, and disrupted sleep are common side effects. However, the severability of these side effects depends upon from one individual to another individual.

Caffeine Withdrawal:

As caffeine is considered as addictive and if you, by chance, miss any few cups of coffee intake, then you might end on caffeine withdrawal. Hence the caffeine withdrawal is another big issue that most people are currently facing.

This addictive state occurs when people consume caffeine regularly. This state of addiction makes you tolerant to caffeine. So when you abstain from having caffeine, then you might have the symptoms of caffeine withdrawal. The signs will include exhaustion, brain fog, headache, and irritability. However, the symptoms are temporary and can last for a couple of days.

Since the tolerance and withdrawal are taken as hallmarks of physical addiction.

Is coffee good or bad?

These are the few tips that can help you in determining if you should drink coffee or not. Also, discuss is coffee good or bad?

Coffee is not suitable for the people who are:

• Pregnant women. Hence, it is best if they either avoid or can limit the consumption of coffee daily.
• We are already facing insomnia or blood pressure as well as dealing with anxiety. So try to reduce the intake of coffee.
• Those are having low metabolism of digesting the caffeine. This slow metabolize process can eventually increase the risk of a heart attack.
• More curious about the concern about having the risk of dangerous diseases such as cancers over time.

However, there is no such evidence that depicts the effect of cancer due to drinking coffee. Moreover, coffee can reduce the impact of many harmful diseases. Furthermore, it can found that on average, coffee has more vital and beneficial effects on health. So, if you are enjoying your coffee cup regularly without having any harmful effects, keep enjoying it. And outweigh the adverse effects.

You may be interested in: Best Instant Coffee Brands

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. Is coffee harmful to health?

Similar to different types of foods and nutrients, the coffee too has harmful effects on your health. Hence taking too much coffee can cause problems, especially if you have a digestive tract.  However, according to the study, it is assumed that drinking 8-ounce cups of coffee daily can have a good and positive effect on your health. And it is also safe for many people.

2. What is the healthiest thing to add to your favorite coffee?

There are around eight ways to make your morning cup of Joe a healthier and even tastier drink.

1. Addinga dash of cinnamon
2. Adding moreflavor with coconut oil
3. Call in the collagen
4. Make cafeau oats
5. Get your coffee cup fill with the taste of cardamom
6. Drink it with more dark chocolate
7. Butter up your coffee to enjoy
8. Addsome herbal powder such as ashwagandha

3. What can I replace coffee with?

These are the following healthy alternatives one can switch to change the taste and enjoy more healthy flavors.

• Chicory Coffee. Like coffee beans, these chicories are the root that can be roasted, ground, and brewed. This way, it can be turned into a delicious hot beverage. …
• Golden Milk
• Yerba Mate
• Rooibos Tea
• Matcha Tea
• Lemon Water
• Chai Tea
• Apple Cider Vinegar

4. How long until caffeine is entirely out of your system?

The caffeine is a drug, and similar to other drugs, this too has a half-life. And generally, the half-life of the drug is the time taken by your body to eliminate the half effects of the drug. Typically, the half-life of caffeine is 3 to 5 hours after taking caffeine. The remaining caffeine will stay in your body for a longer time.

5. How can I flush caffeine out of my system fast?

You can do these following tasks to flush out the caffeine from your system, and this way, you can also feel better.

• Take note of no more caffeine for the day. Hence do not try to consume any caffeine through any source.
• Drink plenty of water to flush out all the contents of the caffeine
• Replace electrolytes
• A good approach to take a fresh walk
• Keep practicing the deep breathing technique.

Final Verdicts

It is keenly relevant to understand that the research and study in the provided article are observational. Hence when you on examination, to learn about the association between coffee drink and disease, then you must study the proven cause and effects of drinking coffee.

However, the given association is relatively stable and is consistent among studies. Hence, we conclude that coffee can play a vital decisive role in your health. It had also observed from the past studies that coffee is likely to have more positive effects among average people. So having a coffee at a moderate level can be categorized as a healthy beverage similar to green or herbal tea.