Is Coffee Good Or Bad For You?

Coffee is the enemy, right? That’s at least, what most health gurus try to make you believe.

That belief is largely unfounded.

Let’s take a closer look at coffee:

• Coffee is beans mixed with water. Well actually seeds. And seeds are high in antioxidants.
• Antioxidants are the badboys that fight DNA damage in your cells.

In fact, coffee is one of the highest source of antioxidants in the standard western diet.

Coffee: Highest source of antioxidants in the American diet.

Now here’s what is also true:

Coffee does not improve your productivity. You can channel your productivity with coffee, yet overall, it’s likely similar to without coffee during a 24h period.

Also, coffee does increase one’s heart rate, which might increase one’s anxiety, and, given that our heart only has a limited amount of total heart beats (yep, that’s a thing), might cut our life short. In theory..

However, science again, shows that heavy coffee drinkers seem to live the longest. So the benefits might just outweigh the risk.

People drinking 4–5 cups of coffee seem to live the longest.

Another thing to consider is that pregnant women tend to avoid coffee (& meat btw) as their first foods as it induces morning sickness.

Why does it matter?

Morning sickness seems to be an evolutionary adaptation to avoid foods with toxins — as they might hurt the embryo. These are called teratogens.

Now, it’s not clear whether that’s a malfunctioning adaptation — as coffee is bitter (and bitter foods, in evolutionary history, tended to have more toxins in them) or something is really not that optimal in coffee.

It’s also not clear wether that makes coffee a drink to avoid in general — or just in some stages of pregnancy.

In short, the science is complex.

Given the widespread use of coffee, the chances are high that it will not harm you or bring along your demise.

Overall, I am a coffee lover. I am not yet 100% sure if this is a good or a bad thing.