Do the benefits of drinking coffee outweigh any risks?

Written By Doug Rinehart

We all see the lines wrapped around Starbucks at 7 a.m. every day—even though a single cup of their caffeine-laden drinks flaunts a $5 price tag. And those Disney-rivaling lines are not a coincidence. With 66% of Americans labeling themselves as coffee consumers, coffee has taken over Americans’ hearts as their number one drink—yes, even beating out tap water. 

But what if I were to tell you that coffee is the worst of the worst…

A cancer-causer.

Hold your gasps. That’s what the World Health Organization blackballed it as back in 1991. But before you start throwing out your bags of aromatic ground beans or K-Cups, there’s more to the story.

After extensive research, coffee was acquitted of the carcinogen charges. In fact, not only was coffee not linked to a higher cancer risk, researchers discovered coffee actually decreased the risk of certain cancers. Well, once the actual carcinogenic culprit of smoking was taken out of the equation.

So, throw out your cigarettes, but not your coffee, right? Not so fast. (Have whiplash? Call us.)

In 2018, despite the sacred protection of double jeopardy, California came out of left field and demanded coffee have the potentially-cancer-causing label slapped back on it. This was because they had an obsession with some weird animal studies that really had nothing to do with humans. So in 2019, the could-cause-cancer label was stripped away and coffee enthusiasts rejoiced.

Now that we’ve established that coffee is not the life-ruining agent it was previously painted several times to be…

In this article, we’re going to squash any remaining rumors and cover the health benefits of drinking coffee—and there are plenty.

Is drinking coffee every day bad for our health?

Let’s lay some ground rules. When we talk about the health benefits of coffee, that doesn’t mean you can drink 11 cups a day. Like all good things in life, there’s a limit. Specifically, five or fewer cups per day are considered to be in the healthy zone. And as long as you stick to that, there should be no dangers brewing in your daily coffee habits—for most people.

People who should pay extra attention to their caffeine intake.

But like all things in life, you can’t just take the five cups of coffee and run with it. Everyone reacts differently, and that’s especially true if you fall into any of these four categories:

  • Have sensitivity to caffeine. Those who have heightened sensitivity levels to caffeine thanks to genetics (yes, you can blame your parents) may experience a whole host of negative side effects. These include, but are not limited to, nausea, jitteriness, and anxiousness—even when drinking caffeine in smaller-than-average amounts.

  • Are pregnant. It’s recommended that pregnant women stick to a maximum of two cups of coffee per day. This is because caffeine makes its way to the fetus via the placenta and is associated with a lower weight at birth and even loss of pregnancy. To keep it safe, always check with your obstetrician before adding caffeine to your diet.

  • Have high blood pressure. Since caffeine raises your heart rate, you should generally keep your consumption of caffeine-riddled drinks to a minimum if you deal with high blood pressure.

  • Take medications. Caffeine can alter the effectiveness of many different medications, so don’t wash down any pills with a cup of Joe. Instead, ask your pharmacist or medical doctor about how caffeine may interact with any medications you’re on.

If you love the taste of coffee but just went through that list and said, “Darn it, there I am,” we have great news. Decaffeinated coffee packs similar health benefits—and taste—as caffeinated coffee, just without the Energizer Bunny buzz. But we also have bad news: If you have a sensitivity to caffeine, it’s better to ax it—yes, including decaf and its measly 2 mg of caffeine—altogether.

The benefits of drinking coffee.

Now that we’ve gotten the dangers of coffee out of the way, the benefits aren’t just limited to the stimulant aspect that makes us feel awake and ready to tackle the work week and all the this-could’ve-been-an-email meetings. There are other good-for-you benefits, such as:

  • Vitamins. Coffee is filled with vitamins such as B2, B3, magnesium, and potassium as well as health-essential antioxidants to help keep your system in tip-top shape.

  • Better physical health. Coffee improves physical endurance and performance so much that the U.S. Special Forces even employs it.

But with great benefits come great responsibility, and a little bit of a gray zone. To make sure you get all the benefits and little risk, keep the following points in mind.

Should you drink coffee at night?

No, you shouldn’t substitute your Sleepytime tea with a piping-hot cup of coffee. But it may not be safe in the mid-afternoon, either. Drinking coffee even six hours before bed is enough to wreck your sleep. But you don’t need to keep a hawk-eyed focus on your watch every time you drink coffee. A good, easy rule of thumb is to limit your caffeine ritual to the mornings to get the benefits of coffee and sleep.

Is coffee dehydrating?

Not necessarily. While caffeine is a diuretic, there’s no evidence to support that it leads to dehydration as long as you’re limiting yourself to five cups per day. In fact, when you keep your coffee-drinking patterns at a healthy level, coffee is as hydrating as water. Take that bit of information to trivia night and watch your competition crumble.

Is coffee healthy once you add in the sugar?

It depends. With pumpkin spice season up next in the season carousel, we hate to tell you this, but loading up black coffee with sugar and/or (pumpkin spice) creamers has a tendency to tank the benefits of drinking coffee while amping up the calories. Shocking, right? That means for the most benefits, drink it black. But if you’re not a sadist, limit your pure sugar add-ins—we’re not advocates of synthetic sweeteners over here—to two teaspoons max. And try to not flood your coffee with creamer until it resembles the color of a cashew. As with all things in life, moderation is key.

Is coffee all you need?

So is coffee the answer to all your health-related prayers? Probably not. Health is a multifaceted component that takes time and energy to figure out—not to mention trial and error. If it could all be solved with a morning cup of coffee, life would be a lot easier.

But what if you could speed up that process and get the answers to what your body needs and what works for you… by means of your own body’s responses?

Our New Patient Appointment includes an entire check of your biomarkers to see what’s compatible and what’s not—food and drink included—as well as energy testing through applied kinesiology. We take the guesswork out of the health game. If that’s something that interests you, feel free to call us, email us, or click here to set up your appointment.

Doug Rinehart
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