European researchers argue their results demonstrate that “medium to heavy” coffee drinkers receive no additional alertness from coffee – the sole benefit is avoiding headaches and withdrawal symptoms. Good thing I’m only a moderate coffee drinker – a couple of cups a day is my limit. Hopefully, that will be enough to accrue all the other health benefits of coffee and live into my second century:
“Coffee….over the decades some 19,000 studies have been conducted on coffee and its impact on health. So far studies indicate that coffee can lower your risk of diabetes, reduce the chances of developing Parkinson’s disease by 80% as well as lower your risk of colon cancer and lower the risk of developing cavities. Coffee has also been found to lift your mood and effectively treat headaches. I have always loved coffee but the cup I am drinking right now never tasted better! There is also evidence that coffee may help manage asthma and even control attacks when medication is unavailable. Another added bonus is that coffee can be a great boost to athleticism. According to researcher Terry Graham, PhD, of the University of Guelph in Canada, what caffeine does is stimulate the brain and nervous system to do things differently. So it can help you to ignore fatigue, use extra muscles and it may even cause muscles to produce a stronger contraction. So if you like to exercise in the morning don’t forget your coffee!”
Check out the article, “Centenarian Secrets” for more great health tips. Hat tip: Glenn Reynolds. Click through for author Sarah Hoyt’s take as well.
2 thoughts on “Controversial Coffee Research”
“Centenarian Secrets” acknowledges conflicting findings among centenarians, but seems to have missed that something else may account for what they have in common: Maybe that’s just the way most people did things 100 years ago. Out of however many people did the same things, those who remain maybe just got lucky.
I missed the part about what’s controversial. It’s not at all surprising that there should be some diminishing returns from continued use of a drug. It’s just one factor when considering the benefits and costs. Or did the original article have scaremongering?
The study is “controversial” from the point of view that it will no doubt inspire much debate and controversy – particularly given the prevalence of heavy coffee drinkers like myself. I do agree that the study’s conclusions are certainly plausible, however.