Jan 12 2009
Coffee & Caffeine Myths Debunked
You might be able to blame coffee for staining your teeth or keeping you up at night, but there are some assumptions about coffee and caffeine that can finally be put to rest.
Caffeine & Hydration
Last fall, the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) reported in its “Nutrition Action Healthletter” that the caffeine is not the diuretic it was once thought to be. They said that people who drink up to 550 milligrams of caffeine (slightly more than 18 ounces) produced no more urine than when drinking caffeine-free liquids. However, drinking more than 575 milligrams (about 20 ounces) will cause a diuretic affect from caffeinated beverages.
Caffeine & Heart Disease
For people with heart disease and/or high blood pressure, caffeine has often been labeled a stimulant to be avoided. But an analysis of 10 studies involving 400,000 people found little evidence that coffee or other caffeinated beverages in “typical” dosages increase the risk of abnormal heart rhythms, sudden death, or heart attack. In fact, a study of 27,000 women followed for 15 years in the Iowa Women’s Health Study concluded coffee consumption reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent. Like the caveat above, the benefits diminish when quantities of coffee are increased beyond the one to three cups per day.
Coffee & Hypertension
Caffeine has the ability to induce a small, temporary rise in blood pressure. But all caffeine is not created equal. A study of 155,000 female nurses who drank coffee with or without caffeine for a decade concluded they were no more likely to develop hypertension than non coffee drinkers. However, those who drank caffeinated colas increased their risks notably.
Coffee, Cancer & Bone Loss
Coffee has been dismissed as a cause of cancer in the kidney or pancreas or liver cancer (in primarily men), and breast cancer in women. Regarding bone loss (or similar calcium excretions), adding as little as one or two tablespoons of milk, whole or reduced fat, reduces caffeine’s negative effect on calcium.
[...] other day, I was busy debunking myths about caffeine consumption. Today, the news is even [...]