DON’T Drink Coffee…Drink Coffee Everyday…AAAAAHHH!!
I tell you…it is a trip how folks flip-flop like fish out of water on the subject of coffee drinking. It seems like at least once a month, I see an article that talks about how bad coffee is, and then the next month another article is singing the praises of coffee.
It’s crazy. In this article from the Harvard Health Blog, it says that coffee raises the risks of certain types of cancer, but it lowers the risk of other types of cancer. What in the world do we make of this?
My Thoughts
Now I am by no means an expert on coffee or an epidemiologist who studies disease and stuff like that, but I do have some personal thoughts about how we can approach coffee consumption (DISCLAIMER: These are personal thoughts and should not be considered as medical advice…talk with your doctor or physician):
What are you putting in it? If anything, what probably makes coffee the most unhealthy is the sugar and the artificial creamers that we put in them. There’s nothing wrong with having a good-tasting cup of joe, but loading it down with tablespoons of sugar and fake cream is just asking for health problems. I think that sweetening coffee to taste with stevia or higher quality sugar (like raw sugar) is acceptable. As far as cream goes, to the least, I would recommend that you consider using real milk or half-and-half, and avoid those flavored-fake creamers because they’re filled with artificial ingredients that are absolutely terrible for you. And hey…this goes for those coffee drinks you buy from your favorite morning coffee stops, too…mocha frappe choco latte sounds good, but there is a LOT of ingredients in those that you need to be conscious of!
Are you trying to lose weight? If so, you definitely want to reduce the amount of cream and sugar in your coffee. Matter of fact, if you really want to lose weight, you should probably consider drinking your coffee black, or maybe considering stevia since it is a good alternative natural sweetener.
Where does your coffee come from? I am not a coffee connoisseur, but I know that there are some higher quality coffees than others. I would consider paying more money to get higher quality coffee beans (or ground coffee) to try to ensure the highest amount of antioxidants and health compounds in the coffee you make.
Don’t drink it too hot. Some folks like coffee practically boiling hot, but that can actually be dangerous and can raise the risk of cancer of the esophagus. See the article I referenced from the Harvard Health Blog for more on that.
Moderation, moderation, MODERATION! Because of the mixed reviews on coffee, I feel it is safe to say that as long as you drink coffee in true moderation and you add healthy stuff to it, you should be just fine. My grandparents drank a cup of Taster’s Choice (or Folgers, I forget) coffee every single morning, and they both lived into their 90s. I’m not saying that’s the reason they lived so long, but I am saying that I don’t believe that it had much or any adverse effect on them. On the other hand, if you carry a tumbler mug around that stays full of coffee, that’s not moderation, man. Just saying. 😉
Wow! I love this article. I was actually thinking about this subject earlier this week. I started about six weeks ago drinking black coffee because my doctor suggested it. She actually stated that there’s nothing wrong with coffee, it’s what we put in it that makes it unhealthy for us to consume. So, I’m drinking my cup of black coffee almost every morning and loving it!
That’s excellent!