Coffee! Coffee! Where’s My Coffee?

How Much is Too Much?

In terms of caffeine for a healthy adult it is recommended to consume no more than 400mg of caffeine per day.  That’s equivalent to 4 cups of coffee (caffeinated) or ten can of Coke or two energy drink shots.  For pregnant women or women who are trying to become pregnant it is recommended to consume no more than 200mg of caffeine per day.

Nutritional Content of Coffee

Coffee does contain some nutrients including a small amount of Potassium, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Manganese, Folate, Sodium and Choline.  It is low calories so although you may feel energized after drinking a cup of coffee that’s just the caffeine, it’s not from calories.  So, coffee should not be a replacement for food.

Adverse Health Effects of Coffee

You probably think I’m going to say coffee is bad for your heart and blood pressure, but really there isn’t enough evidence to prove this.  In fact, there is more solid evidence to prove the contrary!  I can tell you that coffee can affect people differently.  For example, common enough side effects from drinking caffeinated coffee includes.

• Increased breathing and heart rate
• Shaking or tremors
• Trouble sleeping
• It can cause stomach irritation and gastrointestinal distress in some people (laxative effect)
• Restlessness

Some people who should avoid coffee and caffeinated beverages in general include.

• People who are at risk of developing glaucoma (so if you have a family history of glaucoma)
• People with trouble sleeping
• People with epilepsy
• People with Diabetes

I want to elaborate more on the Diabetes.  Some studies have shown that people who drink coffee may have a lower risk of developing type 2 Diabetes, but what if you already have Diabetes?  Type 1 or type 2?  The fact is caffeine can raise blood sugar levels by as much as 8% in Diabetics,(Liao, 2021).  Caffeine effects the body’s response to insulin, meaning it isn’t as effective.  Insulin is the hormone that lets the sugar into you cells and without it the sugar just sits in your bloodstream causing high blood sugar levels.

 Basically, I have my own personal experience with this (it’s backed up by scientific studies too).  When I was doing my leaving certificate, I was a ball of stress and I wasn’t sleeping…so in my wisdom I decided a cup of coffee in the morning would help focus more in school (I know, my logic was a bit off…)  Anyway, I noticed that every morning about an hour after my morning coffee mu blood sugar levels would skyrocket!  I didn’t know what was happening because I wasn’t eating anything different.  I finally decided to cut out the morning coffee to see, even though I didn’t put any sugar in my coffee, and my blood sugars didn’t shoot up.

The reason caffeine has this effect on blood sugar levels is because it makes your body produce adrenaline and this prevents your cells from processing as much sugar, and it can even prevent your body from making enough insulin to process the sugar you consume during the day from your food(Liao, 2021).  So, if you are Diabetic stick to decaffeinated if you can.

Coffee can also lead to significant acid reflux when compared to tea and water.  This doesn’t seem to be related to the caffeine content though as even decaffeinated has a more significant effect on acid reflux when compared to tea or water (Wendl et al., 1994). 

Another study showed that more than 2 cups a day can cause mild urinary incontinence in both men and women (Gleason et al., 2013).

Finally, Coffee has also been linked to increased risk of fracture in women (Lee et al., 2014).  Only a slight increased risk, and it is dose dependent, so you’d have to drink over 2 cups of per day.  There was 14% increased risk of fractures for women who drank over 2 cups per day, but there was a 24% DECREADED risk for men!  Just another bit of proof that men really are from Mars and women from Venus!

Health Benefits of Coffee

First, the idea that coffee, or caffeine, can be harmful to your heart health is not true.  In fact, studies have shown that caffeine exposure in low doses can actually have a protective effect on the heart (Caldeira et al., 2013). 

Coffee can also reduce a person’s risk of developing type 2 Diabetes by up to 6% per cup of coffee.  This could be due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties (Carlström and Larsson, 2018).  These numbers refer to black coffee, not milk or dairy added.  Just remember that if you already have Diabetes, it’s a different story, you should avoid coffee and other caffeinated products if you have Diabetes.

Studies have shown drinking 3-5 cups of coffee per day when you are middle aged can reduce your risk of developing Dementia or Alzheier’s disease by a whopping 65% (Eskelinen and Kivipelto, 2010).  Another study shows that age really is important when you talk about coffee consumption.  Studies have shown that drinking coffee from a young age can reduce your lifespan, whereas drinking it from age 50 onwards can actually increase your lifespan (Freedman et al., 2012; Liu et al., 2013; O’Keefe et al., 2013).  So, if you are a teenager of college student it might be a good idea not to depend on a caffeine rush to get you through the day.

Conclusion

Honestly if you aren’t throwing back a a gallon a day there is no evidence out there proving it does you any long-lasting harm.  If you get some of the above-mentioned symptoms, so shaking or tremors, trouble selling, gastrointestinal upsets etc, then that is your body’s way of saying it isn’t a fan.  If you depend on caffeine to stay away or stay focused that is also not healthy.  If you are tired all the time, you either need more sleep or there is something else going on and you should book an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out.  Like most things in moderation, if it’s something you enjoy, coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

Conclusion

Honestly if you aren’t throwing back a a gallon a day there is no evidence out there proving it does you any long-lasting harm.  If you get some of the above-mentioned symptoms, so shaking or tremors, trouble selling, gastrointestinal upsets etc, then that is your body’s way of saying it isn’t a fan.  If you depend on caffeine to stay away or stay focused that is also not healthy.  If you are tired all the time, you either need more sleep or there is something else going on and you should book an appointment with your doctor to get it checked out.  Like most things in moderation, if it’s something you enjoy, coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle.

References

Caldeira, D. et al. (2013) ‘Caffeine does not increase the risk of atrial fibrillation: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies’, Heart (British Cardiac Society), 99(19), pp. 1383–1389. doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2013-303950.

Carlström, M. and Larsson, S.C. (2018) ‘Coffee consumption and reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes: a systematic review with meta-analysis’, Nutrition Reviews, 76(6), pp. 395–417. doi:10.1093/nutrit/nuy014.

Eskelinen, M.H. and Kivipelto, M. (2010) ‘Caffeine as a protective factor in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease’, Journal of Alzheimer’s disease: JAD, 20 Suppl 1, pp. S167-174. doi:10.3233/JAD-2010-1404.

Freedman, N.D. et al. (2012) ‘Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality | NEJM’, pp. 1891–1904. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1112010.

Gleason, J.L. et al. (2013) ‘Caffeine and urinary incontinence in US women’, International Urogynecology Journal, 24(2), pp. 295–302. doi:10.1007/s00192-012-1829-5.

Lee, D.R. et al. (2014) ‘Coffee consumption and risk of fractures: A systematic review and dose–response meta-analysis’, Bone, 63, pp. 20–28. doi:10.1016/j.bone.2014.02.007.

Liao, S. (2021) How Does Coffee Affect Your Blood Sugar?, WebMD. Available at: https://www.webmd.com/diabetes/diabetes-and-caffeine (Accessed: 25 February 2022).

Liu, J. et al. (2013) ‘Association of coffee consumption with all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality’, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 88(10), pp. 1066–1074. doi:10.1016/j.mayocp.2013.06.020.

O’Keefe, J.H. et al. (2013) ‘Effects of habitual coffee consumption on cardiometabolic disease, cardiovascular health, and all-cause mortality’, Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 62(12), pp. 1043–1051. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2013.06.035.

Wendl, B. et al. (1994) ‘Effect of decaffeination of coffee or tea on gastro-oesophageal reflux’, Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 8(3), pp. 283–287. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2036.1994.tb00289.x.