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Caffeine. . .   Hero or Villain?

It's an energy boosting substance that's consumed by millions of people every day in a variety of forms. For many, it's the "magic elixir" that helps them start their day. (Just check out your local convenience store in the morning as congregants gather at the coffee machines gathering up their first round of propellant.)

In fact, Americans consume 400 million cups of coffee per day making the United States the leading consumer of coffee in the world. So integral has a cup of coffee become to our daily lives, that coffee shops like STARBUCKS and Barney's Coffee Shop have become an integral part of our fast foods landscape. One report estimates that there will be 50,000 coffee shops in the U.S. by the year 2010.

Approximately one out of two Americans over 18 years of age (approximately 100 million people) drink coffee every day. Conservative estimates place average American coffee consumption at 3.1 cups per day. And lets not forget the caffeine consumption coming from soft drinks, tea, and the variety of new energy drinks.

But is all this caffeine consumption good for us? Haven't scientists found that there can be health risks from consuming caffeine? That all depends on which study you read. You see, for a long time, we have been subjected to two different viewpoints on caffeine. First there's the long held popular view that it is addictive, leads to nervousness and jitters, elevates blood pressure and may even cause cancer or heart disease.

More recently there have been scientific studies indicating that it may actually help PREVENT cancer and heart disease and that when not used to excess, caffeine may actually play a valuable part of a good diet. Let's take a closer look.


Scientific Studies Show Benefits

  • More studies have been coming out of late showing that caffeine consumption in moderation may actually have positive health benefits. Here are just some of them.
  • According to a report in Nutrition and Cancer, vol. 33, l999, tests on animals showed that oral administration of caffeine alone, as the sole source of drinking fluid for 18-23 weeks, inhibited the formation of nonmalignant and malignant tumors. The caffeinated liquid also demonstrated the ability to decrease tumor size. This study was conducted by the Department of Chemical Biology of Rutgers State University.
  • Population studies from the United States, Japan, Europe and Norway suggest coffee protects the liver from the effects of alcohol.
  • The first report of a strong link, published in 1992, was updated recently in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Among 125,500 members of the Kaiser Permanente health plan, heavy alcohol drinkers cut their chance of cirrhosis by 20 percent per cup of coffee a day. Four cups correlated with an 80 percent risk reduction.
  • Fans of coffee enemas claim have claimed for many years that it helps the liver cleanse itself of toxins.
  • In the May 24, 2000 Journal of the American Medical Association it was reported that men who drink 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups of regular coffee a day are less likely to develop Parkinson's Disease. According to Dr. Paul Carvey, Director of the Neuro-pharmacology Labs of Rush-Presbyterian Medical Center in Chicago, this study is important because it traced the Parkinson-lowering benefits to caffeine. Dr. Carvey also noted that the study showed similar effects with caffeine-laden foods other than coffee.
  • The June 2000 issue of the International Journal of Immunopharmacology reported that caffeine helped prevent anaphylactic shock in animal studies.
  • A major study conducted by the health maintenance organization Kaiser Permanente and reported in the Annals of Epidemiology found fewer suicides among coffee drinkers. The study looked at the effects of coffee and tea on mortality of nearly 130,000 Northern California residents and the records of 4,500 people who had died.
  • Commenting on the study, Cardiologist Arthur Klatsky said: "This is not a fluke finding because our study was very large, involved a multiracial population, men, women, and examined closely numerous factors related to mortality such as alcohol consumption and smoking.''
  • The unique survey also found no link between coffee consumption and death risk. And it confirmed a "weak" connection of coffee or tea to heart attack risk -- but not to other cardiovascular conditions such as stroke.
  • According to a team of researchers at Rutgers University, a combination of exercise and caffeine in mice increased destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B radiation. "In mice there is a protective effect from both caffeine and voluntary exercise, and when both are provided - not necessarily at the same time - protection is even more than the sum of the two, said Dr. Allan H. Conney of the laboratory for cancer research at Rutgers.
  • Seven out of 10 studies that followed huge groups of people for many years, including Finnish twins and American nurses, have linked coffee/caffeine to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. Recently, it was reported in the Archives of Internal Medicine that an 11-year study of 28,000 postmenopausal women in Iowa found that coffee drinkers had less type 2 diabetes than nondrinkers.

Beware Of Some Cautions Too

Like all drugs, the world's favorite pick-me-up also has some potential side effects you need to be aware of.

Caffeine increases blood pressure and heart rate. It can cause palpitations, insomnia, tremors, diarrhea and increased urination. Caffeine withdrawal can cause headaches, drowsiness, depression and grumpiness.

Caffeine intake during pregnancy. The Food Standards Agency has recommended that pregnant women should limit their caffeine intake to less than 300 mg of caffeine a day - the equivalent of approximately four cups of coffee a day. A higher intake may be associated with miscarriage.

More excellent information about caffeine can be found at the following web sites: