Shocking Facts About Coffee and Your Health

Like many people, I am obsessed with drinking coffee to boost my energy throughout the day. America’s coffee obsession is evident through the long lines and steep prices at Starbucks, and the ever-present catchphrase “America runs on Dunkin”. But despite the energizing jolt that we get from consuming caffeine, is coffee good for us?

Caffeine — a major ingredient in coffee, tea, and chocolate — blocks adenosine, which usually acts as a calming agent throughout the body. Because of this blockage there is an extra release of adrenaline, which causes your heart rate to increase, and your pupils to dilate. This causes that initial morning buzz that you feel when drinking coffee. Although this may feel like a jolt of energy, this feeling is temporary. In the long run, caffeine can cause restlessness, irritability and headaches (which, ironically, it can also cure for some people). Caffeine, like nicotine, is also addicting so after consuming caffeine on a regular basis your body becomes immune to the responses of caffeine. Because of this, caffeine addicts start drinking more coffee, which increases the negative effects.

But it might not be all bad. After years of negative press, I’m glad that coffee is finally getting recognized for health reasons, most popularly for being rich in antioxidants.

Benefit #1: Coffee is a drink for the heart.

Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women over 65 years of age and American women are 4 to 6 times more likely to die of heart disease than of breast cancer. But thanks to the antioxidants in coffee, moderate coffee drinkers (those who consume 1 to 3 cups every day) have lower rates of stroke than non-coffee drinkers.

Benefit #2: Coffee helps regulate blood sugar, boosts our cells sensitivity to insulin, and diverts diabetes.

On the estimated 24 million Americans that have diabetes, about half are women. We can get type 2 diabetes during pregnancy (gestational diabetes) and when having a baby with birth weight more than 9 pounds. We are at risk for diabetes as we perform our motherhood role! But thanks to coffee, antioxidants like chlorogenic acid and quinides help improve the body’s response to insulin.

Benefit #3: Coffee boosts our brain power.

Coffee has caffeine that boosts concentration and alertness. Studies also have it that drinking 1 to 5 cups of coffee a day may help reduce risks of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and Parkinson’s disease. The antioxidants in coffee protect against brain cell damage by helping the neurotransmitters involved in cognitive function to work better.

Benefit #4: Coffee can cure your headache. 

Headache? Call it a woman’s problem or blame it on hormones, but women do get more headaches than men. No worries. Just drink a cup of coffee. Caffeine boosts the activity of brain cells and causes surrounding blood vessels to constrict. The constriction helps to relieve the pressure that causes the pain. About 200 milligrams of caffeine, the amount in 16 ounces of brewed coffee, provides relief from cluster headaches and migraines.

Benefit #5: Coffee also helps us maintain our beauty.

Its high level of antioxidants helps our body repair damaged cells caused by free radicals. There is also a compound in coffee called Trigonelline that prevents dental cavities. It is responsible for the coffee’s aroma and bitter taste but it has antibacterial and anti-adhesive properties that help prevent dental cavities from forming. In fact, coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in American diets.

Benefit #6: Believe it or not, coffee is also said to have lowered the risk of committing suicide by 60% for women.

A study of 86,000 women, led by researcher Ichiro Kawachi, M. D., showed that 2 cups of coffee per day can reduce the likelihood to commit suicide by 60%. Hmmm, maybe that’s because caffeine increases the production of dopamine that boosts energy and cuts depression.

Coffee is great in moderation. But just like any other substance, different individuals feel different effects.

Just like other coffee lovers, I freaked out when I learned that a Swedish study claims that coffee can make women’s breast smaller. I was like “OMG. No wonder!” 

The weird study was developed by Helena Jernström, a lecturer in experimental oncology at Lund University. She’s been going out on seminars saying “Drinking coffee can have a major effect on breast size.” She proved her findings by studying almost 270 women who showed a clear connection between coffee and smaller breasts.

On the positive side, the study also points out that drinking coffee reduces the risk of breast cancer. In fact, the result of Helena Jernström’s study was published in the British Journal of Cancer. Average women with big breasts can reduce the risk by drinking at least three cups of coffee a day. A cup of coffee keeps breast cancer away!

But, like any substance, how you’re affected depends on your body’s health and chemistry. Here are a few things to look out for:

Risk #1: Coffee makes heart conditions worse.

While moderate coffee drinkers (those who consume 1 to 3 cups every day) have lower rates of stroke than non-coffee drinkers, those who drink 4 cups or more a day have a higher risk for increased cholesterol and blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease. Caffeine causes Vasoconstriction (shrinking of blood vessels), which makes the heart work harder to pump blood throughout the body. This increases blood pressure and cholesterol.

Risk #2: Coffee causes anxiety, which ages us just like stress does.

Although some people experience anxiety at higher levels than others, coffee can even trigger anxiety all the more. This arises from an excessive amount of caffeine and occurs because a person’s heart rate increases when consuming too much coffee.

Risk #3: Coffee can give you an upset stomach.

Regular and excessive coffee intake can cause upset stomach by disrupting the lining of the stomach. This can cause indigestion, heartburn, acid reflux, and diarrhea.

Risk #4: Coffee can cause dehydration.

Caffeine is a diuretic, which increases urine production, which reduces the amount of water in the body. This can possibly cause extreme dehydration.

So, before reaching for your 4^th cup of coffee of the day remember that it may – or may not – be the best decision. Listen to yourself and your body. After all, that’s the best health advice there is.