Coffee: Good or Bad?
Is coffee good or bad for you? I get this question a lot, there has been some conflicting information in the media over the years, but don’t worry, this blog post is here to help you find the answer!
Decades ago, coffee had a bad rap. It was thought that coffee could contribute to heart disease and was a bad habit. However, in recent years we have found that there are many benefits to drinking coffee... in moderation.
Here are some of the benefits:
Decreased risk of heart disease
Decreased risk of dementia, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
Decreased risk of certain forms of cancer
Beneficial for liver health
Decreased risk of diabetes
Improved athletic performance
Improved weight loss and weight maintenance
Those are a lot of good things! BUT.... in more recent years we have also found that genetics plays a role. Some people have a genetic mutation that make them “fast metabolizers” of caffeine and others have a genetic mutation that make them “slow metabolizers” of caffeine. Studies have found that these fast metabolizers see more of the health benefits outlined above than the slow metabolizers.
We generally recommend no more than 4 cups of coffee a day. However, in slow metabolizers, they may be better off with only 1-2 cups of coffee a day. DNA tests that include health trait analyses may be able to tell you if you are a slow or fast metabolizer.
What about decaf coffee? While more research is needed, it appears that decaf coffee provides many of the same benefits as the caffeinated version. For example, most of the benefits of coffee drinking are believed to come from the polyphenols in the coffee bean, not the caffeine. However, further studies are needed as caffeine may be the cause of some of the proposed benefits, such as improved athletic performance, decreased risk of Alzheimer’s, and weight loss.
One last tip, coffee is high in oxalates which can impact calcium absorption. But studies have shown that adding milk (cow’s milk or milk with added calcium) to your coffee can counteract the effects of the oxalates. So if you are worried about bone health, be sure to add a splash of milk to that cup of joe!
