Health Effects Of Coffee

"My day doesn't start until I've had my coffee."

This saying is practically patented by nine-to-five workers nationwide.

It is true, coffee is a stimulant. It contains caffeine, a substance responsible for enhancing alertness and prolonging fatigue. Coffee's health effects, however, continue to be studied by doctors across the globe.

Though caffeine is used recreationally and medicinally, many studies have linked it to both positive and negative health impacts. In fact, coffee is one of the most heavily researched commodities in the world, generating thousands of varying studies.

For example, it is often hypothesized that coffee contributes to harmful stomach acids, resulting in ulcers. However, recent studies show stomach acids do not induce ulcers. Ulcers, which can be cured by antibiotics, are instead caused by bacteria. Coffee–as well as spicy foods–can aggravate existing ulcers, but they serve no function in causing the painful ailment.  

Another common misconception links caffeine to pregnancy deficiencies, such as low birth weight, infertility and increased likelihood to miscarry. A 1993 study proved women who consumed more than 800 milligrams of coffee per day were at no increased risk of experiencing negative reproductive effects than women who abstained from caffeine.

In fact, coffee is known to have positive characteristics. People who suffer from migraine headaches generally praise caffeine, which is often added to painkillers to increase the medication's effectiveness.

For people who indulge in a diet which is low in fruits and vegetables, coffee has often been reputed as their best source of antioxidants. Antioxidants are known to prevent chemical damage to a cell's components, thwarting possibilities for cancer cells to harvest or liver cirrhosis to occur. As a matter of fact, one study showed people who drink four or more cups of coffee per day are 80 percent less likely to develop liver cirrhosis than non-coffee drinkers. A larger Italian study of 274 cases reaffirmed this position, stating coffee drinkers are 84 percent less likely to suffer from this ailment.

Four cups of coffee per day is not a difficult achievement for habitual drinkers. Caffeine meets some–but not all–of the criteria for an addictive agent. Coffee achieves three of the seven statues for dependency set by the American Psychiatric Association, including withdrawal, tolerance, reinforcement and dependence.  

However, the World Health Organization stated "There is no evidence whatsoever that caffeine use has even remotely comparable physical and social consequences which are associated with serious drugs of abuse."

Regardless of its addictiveness, coffee health has come under scrutiny. A 1992 study showed coffee to negatively impact anxiety levels. A single dose of 300 milligrams was proven to allow enough caffeine to alter moods in most people. This increased anxiety can also lead to insomnia and what some call coffee jitters.

Another coffee study, performed by the Harvard Medical School, studied 155,000 nurses over the course of 12 years and found their increase in blood pressure–presumably due to caffeine–was increased dramatically. This study, however, failed to incorporate male responses to caffeine.  

Many of the inquiries into coffee's health have resulted in both mixed and ambiguous results. Though it has the potential to cause insomnia, this fatigue-alleviating feature is just what many professionals bank on when settling into the office for a long day of necessary alertness.

The Coffee Science Information Center. 28 Aug. 2006.

Wikipedia. 2006. 28 Aug. 2006.

Jacobs, Ryan. Coffee Health Myths Explained. I Need Coffee. 1999. Digital Colony. 25 Aug. 2006.