Whenever someone who drinks coffee everyday tells me they don’t want to drink coffee anymore, I’m always so confused. Of course, caffeine is known to be addictive and there are many theories out there like the idea that coffee stunts growth, but I always wonder why people focus more on the possible bad things than the actual good. For example, the fact that caffeine is addictive is the reason many people stop drinking coffee, but they still drink caffeinated drinks like black tea or diet soda. This may lower their caffeine intake, but they still ingest the substance every day and that doesn’t solve the problem of addiction. Also, I haven’t read or heard about someone who was addicted to caffeine as many people have been to alcohol or other drugs.
In contrast with these theories, there are so many health benefits of coffee that have actually been proven by studies. Prestigious universities like Harvard have released articles claiming that studies have shown that coffee doesn’t increase the risk of high blood pressure as previously thought, and that it “might have anti-cancer properties. Last year, researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50 percent less likely to get liver cancer than nondrinkers. A few studies have found ties to lower rates of colon, breast and rectal cancers.”
Also writing about why coffee is healthy was Kris Gunnars, the founder and CEO of an independent website called Authority Nutrition. Gunnars employs people with degrees in nutrition and medicine to write articles about these topics. The website claims that every article they publish is “the single best article that exists on the topic.” The article Gunnars wrote about coffee was basically a list of 13 benefits of drinking coffee regularly, which included a much lower risk of getting some serious diseases like type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, dementia, Parkinson’s, some types of cancer and stroke. The article also stated that coffee can help burn fat, increase performance while exercising, protect the liver, live longer and fight depression. Each claim was backed by multiple studies conducted by reliable organizations and colleges. Why would someone give all of that up just so that coffee won’t stunt their growth?
One claim was made on this article that seemed like it wasn’t true. This claim was that coffee has the most antioxidants in the whole western diet. Antioxidants are substances which help disarm molecules in the human body called free radicals that could otherwise cause damage to important cell structures like DNA. Usually, fruits and vegetables are advertised as having the most antioxidants, but recent research has shown that it’s actually coffee which has the most. In another article released by the American Chemical Society quoted Joe Vinson, Ph.D., a chemistry professor at the University of Scranton. Scranton was the university that conducted the study of antioxidants in coffee and some other foods and drinks. “Americans get more antioxidants from coffee than anything else,” said Vinson. This could be the reason why coffee helps prevent diabetes and cancer, as antioxidants have also been proven to do so.
This is why I’m baffled when people stop drinking coffee because they want to be healthier. There are so many more proven benefits to drinking coffee than potential harms. Also, some potential harms like the idea that coffee stunts growth have been disproven. According to the New York Times, a study conducted at Creighton University showed that as long as a person gets enough calcium intake, coffee will not be able to affect their bone mass. For those who do not get enough calcium, the study showed that the effects are minimal.
With these facts in mind, I would like to advise anyone who wants to improve their health to drink coffee. Drink it every day if you want to. I think it’s time for people to recognize that coffee is good for them.