Coffee ... Good or Bad?

It's something many of us drink everyday, and perhaps for some, don't start the morning without. Already know what I'm talking about? It's a good ol' cup of joe. There has been an influx of information in my email inbox recently on coffee being 'good for this,' 'but not so good for that' and so I thought it was about time to set the record straight for all the coffee drinkers out there, myself included.

Moderate coffee consumption is perfectly good and fine for the average population. In fact, it may even have some benefits. Yeah for us drinkers! The risk of type II diabetes, which is highly prevalent in our province, is actually lower among those who regularly drink coffee compared to those who don't. Many of coffee's health benefits are because of antioxidants – the garbage collecting, disease fighting compounds found in many 'healthy' foods (think fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains). Antioxidants in coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated) reduce inflammation in our body and improve how we use insulin, the hormone that lowers blood sugar. Coffee also contains magnesium and chromium, two minerals connected to good blood sugar. Also of benefit, coffee may decrease the risk of getting gallstones, colon cancer development (also of high prevalence for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians), the risk of liver damage for those at high risk, improve memory and reduce the risk of Parkinson's disease. Coffee has also been shown to improve performance for certain physical activities. As with anything, moderation is certainly key. One thing to remember is coffee can be good, but if you add to it a lot of fancy calories it may not be that helpful. A double cream, double sugar is about 150 calories, and a triple triple is about 225 calories. Doesn't sound like much, but at two double doubles a day, every day for a month it's a actually whole lot of extra calories! Two and a half extra pounds for the waistline per month to be exact. Keep that thought as a motivator for switching to milk, or reducing that cream and sugar to keep your intake of coffee at it's healthiest.

Even though it can have a lot of benefits, coffee isn't for everyone. Caffeine, coffee's main ingredient is a mild stimulant. This means it can have effects on the heart like an increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, and occasional irregular heartbeat. If you have heartburn or reflux it would be in your best interest to limit or avoid coffee. With reflux, regular and decaf both promote stomach acid release, and relax the muscle that keeps food in our stomachs. Together that's a bad recipe for heartburn. Women who are pregnant or those looking to become pregnant should also watch their intake. Drinking too much coffee each day may increase the risk of miscarriage. No more than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day for these women (about two eight ounce, or small cups daily) is the max. For everyone else the max caffeine is about 400 mg daily. The caffeine content in a coffee varies, so to give you a general idea, a small Tim Horton's has about 80 mg, and an extra large 200 mg. Starbucks is a little more, as a venti (the same size as the Tim's extra large) is 415 mg. A home brewed or regular cafe coffee is about 180 mg, a similar sized instant about 100 mg, and decaf is virtually zero.

As seen in The Telegram July 18, 2011