There is no doubt that coffee is one of the world’s most popular drinks; in 2005, the average Canadian drank 92 litres of coffee, or about 370 cups, per year.
But coffee’s status as a major fixture in many of our lives brings with it many questions related to our health, particularly concerning coffee’s impact on cardiovascular disease and cancer.
As the story goes, an Arabic shepherd named Kaldhi discovered coffee’s stimulant properties after noticing that one of his goats was more agitated after eating the berries off a coffee plant in Ethiopia.
While it is impossible to verify this legend’s authenticity, there is no doubt it is a big stimulant: Coffee beans represent a huge source of caffeine, a substance that acts on the nervous system to illicit stimulating effects, particularly heightened awareness and reduced drowsiness.
Aside from caffeine, coffee also contains at least 800 other chemical compounds, including 2-furfuryl-thiol, a molecule which is in large part responsible for coffee’s distinct aroma.
Even more interestingly, coffee beans also contain large quantities of phytochemicals, notably caffeic and chlorogenic acids, which provide coffee with strong antioxidant properties. In countries where people consume large quantities of coffee (such as Scandinavian countries), studies show that the drink provides more antioxidants than any other food or drink.
With the proven role of antioxidants in preventing certain chronic illnesses, the antioxidant properties of coffee suggests, at first glance, that it could be beneficial to a person’s health. But is this really true?
Many studies have examined the effects of regular coffee consumption on the development of three main types of chronic illnesses that affect different populations: cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and cancer.
– Cardiovascular disease: Even if an increased heart rate and higher blood pressure are often seen following coffee consumption, study results have shown that coffee does not in fact increase a person’s risk of cardiac ailments and could even slightly reduce the risk of being hit with this type of disease.
– Type 2 diabetes: A look at studies done to determine the impact of coffee consumption on the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes showed that people who consume four to six cups of coffee per day are approximately 30% less at risk of developing this disease than those who drink less than two cups per day. This effect is caused by coffee’s elevated chronogenic acid content, which improves the body’s absorption of insulin.
– Cancer: Even if coffee contains, at high doses, potentially carcinogenic substances, studies have shown that coffee consumption is not linked to an increased risk of developing cancer. In fact, statistics show that coffee could even reduce the risk of some cancers, specifically of the liver. Studies have shown that people who regularly consume coffee are 40% less at risk of developing this disease.
Together, these observations seem to indicate that drinking coffee is not detrimental to a person’s health. Rather, it is possible that the popular beverage could help in the prevention of some chronic illnesses.
According to Statistics Canada, drinking three cups of coffee per day (or about 400 mg of caffeine) poses no risk to a person’s health. Still, individual responses to the consumption of high doses of coffee may differ and it can cause sleeping difficulty, irritability or gastroesophageal reflux.
This means that it is important to keep an eye out for these problems and, if they are present, modify your coffee intake accordingly.
