Okay so coffee is definitely, definitely good for you
Coffee: it’s good for you! No, it’s bad for you! No, it’s good for you! I’m quitting coffee! I’m putting butter in coffee! I’m rubbing coffee grounds on my face! You get the point. Nobody really knows what to do with their coffee consumption. Until now, when we can say it is definitely, definitely good for you. We’re pretty sure.
The New York Times’ data blog The Upshot dove into the history of research into coffee’s effects on people’s health. And besides TV quacks and, like, people who believe yoga can cure cancer, most people who’ve investigated have found that coffee is pretty much amazing for you.
To clarify, as The Upshot’s Aaron E. Carroll does, we’re talking black coffee – which “has 5 or fewer calories and no fat or carbohydrates” – not your friggin’ Starbucks grande diabetes shot.
Here’s the facts:
– A meta-analysis of studies concluded that those who drink 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day are at lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared to those who drink none.
– Another meta-analysis found those who drink two to six cups a day have alower risk of stroke compared to those who drink none.
– Another found “moderate consumption” lowered the risk of heart failure, with the lowest risk being at “four servings a day.”
– Another, published in 2007, found an extra two cups a day can drop your relative risk of liver cancer by 40%.
– You won’t have added protection from prostate or breast cancer as a coffee drinker, but it doesn’t increase your chances of getting those cancers either.
– It can lower your risk of liver disease, lower the risk of those with liver disease progressing to cirrhosis, and lower the risk of cirrhosis leading to death.
– It potentially has a protective effect against Alzheimer’s, but more certainly is associated with lower cognitive decline.
The list, unbelievably, goes on. So as you’re considering your second cup of the day right about now, maybe have a skim of The Upshot and realise you don’t have to feel bad about it. You’re probably just helping yourself.
Words by Jake Cleland