Coffee the good and the bad

This article started as my project to learn more about coffee: the good and the bad. I did some work reading different materials, including lab results and medical articles about coffee. If you are curious about coffee, I hope you'll find this article interesting.

Most people love to have a cup of coffee in the morning or early afternoon. Some people think coffee is bad, so they don't drink it; some have religious rules about it. I always say do what works and makes you feel good. If it makes you happy and doesn't affect your health, why not enjoy some coffee?

Some like to drink coffee to stay awake, grab a mug, pour dark liquid into the cup, and rush to work. For some, coffee is an experience. It's dark outside, coffee is brewing, and the smell of it fills the room; you sit and read or ponder about life while sipping on a cup of coffee. I enjoy making an espresso in the morning with hot steamed cream.  For me, it is a pleasurable feeling and not to keep me awake.  I like the smell and the color of espresso and milk. If I make coffee, I always grind my organic coffee beans. I love the smell of coffee.

The question I kept asking is, how healthy is it actually?  

According to some studies, coffee contains

  • Caffeine

  • Vitamin B2 (riboflavin)

  • Magnesium

  • Plant chemicals: polyphenols, including chlorogenic acid and quinic acid, and diterpenes, including cafestol and kahweol

Coffee contains more than thousands of different bioactive compounds that can benefit our body. Coffee may offer some protection against:

  • Neurodegenerative diseases

  • Type 2 diabetes

  • Liver disease, including liver cancer

  • Heart attack and stroke

  • Metabolic syndrome

Addiction to Caffeine

According to the medical profession, caffeine addiction is considered a mental illness. I never really thought about it until I read some medical papers. We can see that companies started adding caffeine to drinks, supplements, gum, and candy. So why are they putting caffeine into food? I'll have a conspiracy they are trying to keep people dependent on the drug caffeine. It's legal, after all. They sneak in that stuff everywhere. One medical study says people should not drink more than 200 mg of caffeine a day to avoid any adverse effects. Caffeine can boost our mood and give us energy. But if we drink a lot of caffeine a day, then it can cause anxiety, restlessness, increased heart rate, and insomnia. Caffeine in the brain has a similar effect as cocaine and other drugs.* See one study below. That's why people who drank lots of coffee for a long time say it doesn't do anything to them, and that's because for it to do anything, they would have to add more coffee. They have reached a drug addiction stage. If you drink coffee every day and can't live without it perhaps you might want to check and see if you are addicted. If switching to tea is very difficult and you have withdrawal symptoms, then you are probably addicted. I mostly prefer to drink coffee if I go to a coffee shop to write, or if at home, I drink occasionally.

How nutritious is coffee?

Green coffee has lots of healthy chemical compounds in it. After roasting, half of them disappear. After brewing, most of them are gone. See the Table by national institute below. Now you can buy green coffee supplements with all it's benefits or make your own tincture. As for roasted coffee, according to some researchers, light-roasted coffee has more caffeine and is more acidic than medium- or dark-roasted coffee. Coffee composition depends on where and how coffee is grown or its origin. Is it organic or non-organic? How was it stored and roasted? Does the final product have mold and perhaps sprayed with chemicals? What was the preparation method (water, steam, temperature, roasting, etc)?  I wouldn't drink coffee for its nutritional value, understanding that most of it is lost by the time it gets to my cup. There is research thatcoffee could benefit the liver. There is a link at the bottom with more details if you want to know more. In short, coffee has been associated with lower enzyme levels. It also helps protect the liver from metabolic syndrome, decreases fat in the liver, decreases inflammation, and reduces the incidence of fibrosis. The question is, what type of coffee? How it's prepared, and so on. Let me say it's not your expresso with milk, cream, and flavors. Let's assume it's organic coffee, free of pesticides and chemicals. Free of flavors, sugars and milk. And it's not the caffeine but coffee as a whole that has hundreds of beneficial compounds.

Now, let's get to the numbers

While research says coffee intake should be at most 200 or 300 mg to have mild effects and health benefits, how much is too much? Let's see, one 8 oz cup of adequately brewed coffee has 95mg of caffeine.  So let's say you drive by a coffee stand and get 20 oz coffee; that's 227mg.  That should be enough of caffeine for the day. A 16oz Breve latte will have 150mg of caffeine. One shot of espresso has 64mg of caffeine. Some coffee shops say their 20 oz drink has two shots, and some say three.  Starbucks has four if I remember correctly.  You would have to ask the barista at your coffee place how many shots they have in a cup you want, you can even tell them to put less if you want a 24 oz cup.

In conclusion, after reading different studies, roasted coffee has some benefits for us but not as much as some people hoped.  Before claiming the benefits, we have to keep in mind how the coffee was stored, roasted, and prepared will affect the nutritional value and benefits of coffee. If you buy cheap coffee for home use or at a gas station, you can benefit from caffeine, but it can also have a negative effect on your body if it contains chemicals and pesticides. Most people don't drink coffee for its nutritional value; some do it out of habit, to stay awake, or for social purposes. Coffee could be harmful to some individuals who are sensitive to caffeine or have high blood pressure or acid reflux. One has to use discretion and learn to feel their own body. If you feel worse after drinking it, then don't. If you ask me, I'll recommend to buy coffee from organic or sustainable small farms, medium roasted, clean of mold and harmful chemicals. Try to alternate between drinking tea on some days and drinking coffee on others. I have switched to drinking loose-leaf oolong tea, green tea, white tea, and herbal tea.  I enjoy my espresso or coffee with cream, especially if I am traveling and visiting a lovely coffee shop. I have also been trying to enjoy plain black coffee brewed with freshly ground beans. No matter what, we are all different, and coffee will affect us differently. Genetics, race, and blood type should all be consideredwhen drinking coffee. Listen to your own body and do what works for you.

*Nutrients in coffee https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7824117/table/nutrients-13-00088-t001/?report=objectonly

*Effects of Coffee and Its Components on the Gastrointestinal Tract and the Brain-Gut Axis

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7824117/

*Addiction: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3777290/

*Effect on liver https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4862107/