The Truth About Coffee: Good or Harm for your Body

As you already know I’m 9 weeks pregnant, so I read allot about what can harm my body and my baby. As I dropped the smoking habit for some while, I didn’t stopped drinking coffee completely just because it slows my digestion very much. I’ve limited my intake to half regular cup each morning.Studies show that drinking coffee while you are pregnant may harm you baby. It is associated with low birth weight baby. I personally think if  drinking a coffee (just) one zip daily makes a difference for you, it’s gonna harm your baby.
But, for our body generally, with so many studies out there about coffee, it’s hard to remember whether our morning cup of Joe does the body any good — or harm.

On The Early Show Monday, Dr. Holly Phillips of CBS station WCBS-TV in New York went through some commonly-circulated beliefs about the health effects of one of the nation’s most popular beverages.

IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU?

Well, I would have to say, all things in moderation. There do definitely seem to be some health benefits. The more we’re learning, research is leaning on the side of it being good for you. It lowers the risk of Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes. It mediates depression. But the benefits are dose-related.

SHOULD CHILDREN BE DRINKING COFFEE?

It’s better to limit their caffeine intake. They’ll get caffeine in other things : chocolate, sodas, but particularly in kids, it’s linked to attention problems and hyperactivity, so it’s better to avoid it.

COFFEE IS DEHYDRATING. TRUE OR FALSE?

It depends on the dose. We think of coffee as a diuretic. But recent studies have shown it’s only a diuretic at high doses - above 575 milligrams. Have some water if you exceed that amount.

HOW MUCH IS THAT?

575 milligrams is a little less than three cups of coffee, but that’s three regular size cups. But we have to remember the cups we have nowadays are big cups. So, it’s easy to have more than 575 milligrams.

COFFEE INCREASES HYPERTENSION. TRUE OR FALSE?

Coffee does increase your blood pressure, but only for a few minutes. What’s interesting is that recent studies show it doesn’t increase your likelihood of getting hypertension. I would caution that anyone who has high blood pressure that’s not under control should avoid caffeine.

COFFEE HELPS WEIGHT LOSS

Unfortunately, this doesn’t work. Caffeine does speed up your metabolism for awhile but, in long-term studies, people who drank coffee had no better weight control than people who didn’t.

DOES COFFEE ACCELERATE BONE LOSS?

This one is a little controversial. It doesn’t make our body lose more calcium or lose calcium from the bones, but some studies have shown coffee drinkers do have more brittle bones. I suggest all of my patients, especially women, supplement with a calcium supplement or, if you’re going to have a great deal of coffee, make sure you put some milk in your coffee.

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9 Responses to “The Truth About Coffee: Good or Harm for your Body”

1. faith24 Says:
   October 22nd, 2008 at 12:56 am

   I am pretty lucky, i guess, because I dont like the taste of coffee at all. I can only drink it if mixed with lots of sugar and half and half:)

2. veedee Says:
   October 22nd, 2008 at 11:19 am

   I drink very little coffee — surely it can’t be bad!

3. Brittany K Says:
   October 23rd, 2008 at 10:36 am

   I love coffee, but I try to limit my intake. I probably have a cup or two about every other day. I know that’s still quite a lot, but I just love it so much

4. Sandy Says:
   October 25th, 2008 at 10:33 pm

   I think like anything, coffee is fine in moderation.

5. faith24 Says:
   October 30th, 2008 at 8:14 pm

   try turkish coffee… It is the only kind i like to drink (once in a while)- and it’s probably not as bad as regular coffee.

6. Sue Says:
   November 22nd, 2008 at 8:00 am

   I love coffee but I limit it to about 4 cups a day.

   Whenever I have a cup of coffee I also have a glass of water as well as that will help flush out any toxins from it. The extra water also helps to speed up the metabolism.

7. Denise Says:
   July 14th, 2009 at 7:23 am

   I love coffee. I’ve been drinking it for along time and it has affected me alot. I have to drink water to keep me hydrated. I have to get to the Bathroom alot bcuze of my coffee habit and if I don’t drink coffee I get bad headaches.
   I even have tried to ween myself from coffee and I go right back to drinking it.

8. Samira Says:
   May 23rd, 2011 at 11:46 pm

   I enjoy a cup of coffee every morning before my day begins. I have been drinking coffee since the age of 16 and I am very healthy. I will not trade my coffee for anything.

9. meee Says:
   October 18th, 2011 at 8:08 pm

   couldn’t find here what i was searching for. Does coffee affect the temper? I guess i become moody and become sleepy (sometimes i do get headache too) after drinking coffee

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