It’s a new year and the new coffee studies are already rolling in showing the good, the bad and the ugly of coffee. The fact of the matter when it comes to coffee is that if you want to find a study to support drinking coffee, you can. If you want to find a study to support not drinking coffee, you can.
Just this week, a study came out that says coffee is linked with a lower risk of oral cavity or throat cancer. According to the study, “Research indicates that drinking coffee lowers the risk of developing cancer of the oral cavity or throat, at least in the general population of Japan, according to a recent article in American Journal of Epidemiology as reported by Yahoo News. Compared with people who did not drink coffee, those who drank one or more cups per day had half the risk of developing these cancers.”
Full story: http://www.amonline.com/web/online/VendingMarketWatch-News/Research-Links-Coffee-With-Lower-Risk-Of-Oral-Cavity-Or-Throat-Cancer/1$23407
Here are a few studies from the past year that show both the good and bad news about coffee.
The Good News:
Coffee Associated with Lower Deaths From Heart Disease
“Coffee Drinkers Have Slightly Lower Death Rates, Study Finds. A new study has good news for coffee drinkers: Regular coffee drinking (up to 6 cups per day) is not associated with increased deaths in either men or women. In fact, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumption is associated with a somewhat smaller rate of death from heart disease.”
Full story: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080616170839.htm
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Wake up and smell the coffee: Study finds that caffeine may help prevent MS
“A new study coauthored by Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation scientist Linda Thompson, Ph.D., found that mice immunized to develop an MS-like condition were protected from the disease by drinking caffeine. The research appears in the early online edition of the June 30, 2008 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”
Full story: http://www.physorg.com/news134065007.html
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AASLD 2008: High Coffee Consumption May Slow Hepatitis C Progression CME
"Increased coffee consumption may slow the progression of liver damage caused by hepatitis C virus infection, researchers reported in a poster here at The Liver Meeting 2008: 59th Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). Patients who self-reported drinking 3 or more cups of coffee per day were less likely to have liver disease progression than those who drank less coffee daily."
Full story: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/583121
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Now for some bad news:
Coffee Can Double Risk of Miscarriage
“Pregnant women who have two or more cups of caffeinated drinks a day have twice the risk of having a miscarriage than those who avoid caffeine, suggests a new study.”
Full story: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13206-coffee-can-double-risk-of-miscarriage.html
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The following study can be considered good or bad depending upon who is reading it.
Drinking Coffee Reduces the Size of Women's Breasts
"Drinking a lot of coffee reduces the size of many women's breasts, a Swedish researcher finds. Helena Jernstrom, an oncologist at Lund University in southern Sweden, said that the effect is the result of a gene that about half of women possess, The Local reported. "Drinking coffee can have a major effect on breast size," she said.”
Full story: http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/10/19/Study_Cups_of_java_cut_cup_size/UPI-15601224390322/
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I don't make these things up folks. Here is the bottom line: Check in with your doctor especially if you have any health concerns, are pregnant or planning to become pregnant. If you get the okay, enjoy your coffee, don’t over do it and don’t rely on it to cure or save you from anything.