9 ms·

Ask HN: Is coffee healthy?

11 points by mcartyem 14y ago

senthadev 14y ago
Anything excess is not healthy.
treskot 14y ago
You will find many articles which suggest that coffee is healthy and cures xyz.. and the very next article which will suggest that it will kill you. You be the judge. The safest way to do it, is not to overdo it.
- tluyben2 14y ago
  Indeed, just moderate with everything you do and you should be safe. But if you read your daily favorite mag or newspaper you can make an easy case that almost everything causes and prevents cancer and causes and prevents coronary issues. All depends on the year it is published; it flips every few years for a lot of things like coffee, milk and so on. I don't think we know too much (yet) and moderation will probably be the safest thing.
debacle 14y ago
In moderate amounts (1-2 cups a day, or a bit more), it has beneficial effects. For people who drink 1-2 pots a day, I've seen it cause gastrointestinal issues, ulcers, reflux, and other issues.
- digitalWestie 14y ago
  this, everything in moderation son.
  - mcartyem 14y ago
    Could one say the same if coffee was replaced with cigarettes?
ttc 14y ago
Brendan Brazier (former professional Ironman triathlete) talks about coffee in his book "Thrive" and explains that you're basically "borrowing energy" that you eventually have to pay off at some point. Coffee in itself is not bad but one should use it wisely.
- jyu 14y ago
  Are there any other substances that he mentions that are not "borrowing energy"? For instance, maybe there are substances like vitamin B1 that has a general population deficiency.
  - debacle 14y ago
    Vitamin D.
  - ttc 14y ago
    From Brazier's book, natural stimulants that can be used to enhance performance are e.g. matcha and yerba mate. You can find them at WholeFoods.
cjbprime 14y ago
We don't know. My understanding of the current meta-studies is that there is a slight positive effect on general health and life expectancy associated with drinking reasonable amounts of coffee. But think about that more -- what else could be associated with drinking coffee? People who drink coffee every day might be more likely to have a job, which means (in the US) that they're more likely to have health insurance and higher socioeconomic status, which can cause increases in life expectancy too. Which suggests that it could be the case that if you're thinking about drinking coffee every day, you've probably already benefited from the positive effects regardless of whether you actually go ahead and drink it. While I don't think we're going to be able to isolate the measurement of positive effects, we can say one thing: while we can't measure causal positive effects on health, we're at least not seeing strong negative effects on health from moderate coffee drinking. The argument's just over whether coffee is causing the slightly-better health that people who drink it experience, or merely correlating with it.
jokermatt999 14y ago
According to this article, yes: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/the-case-for-drinking-as-much-coffee-as-you-like/265693/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/the-case-f... Seems to cover a lot of studies, but it could be a "submarine" post. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html
lazyjones 14y ago
If you're asking for scientifically proven statements: I don't know, I doubt anyone does. If you're asking for opinions: after having been a regular (sometimes extreme) coffee drinker for more than 20 years (until about 3 months ago), I'd say no. Whatever disputed positive effects it might have (mildly stimulating, supposedly preventing depression, for me personally it seemed to prevent distraction mostly, but so does suitable music... ), we know for sure that it screws up your sleep and, in many cases, digestive system. I sleep better and am more productive now (I think) than before and on top of that I also got rid of an annoying routine (making coffee N times/day) and a resource I depended on (and might miss during zombie apocalypse, for example). But for people who smoke for example, it's probably negligible either way.
stonewhite 14y ago
If you have a healthy habit of drinking fresh water, drinking moderate amounts of coffee is mostly beneficial, since coffee is a diuretic. Otherwise you may fuzz up your concentration along with your gastrointestinal system.
- maxerickson 14y ago
  Recent nutritional advice is that moderate amounts of coffee can be counted as hydration. For instance: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661
Mz 14y ago
I have an incurable medical problem, genetic in nature. I have gotten off a lot of prescription medication. How I eat is a big part of how I manage my condition. Caffeine is a stimulant similar to some of the prescription drugs I have gotten off of. I consume plenty of diet coke but I am not a big coffee drinker. I do occassionally drink it for medicinal purposes, usually something mocha since I really am not crazy about coffee. As I resolve underlying issues, my general consumption of coffee, chocolate and diet coke has gone down. I just no longer need so many stimulants, so I just don't crave it. Thus I suspect coffee is "healthy" for some people in much the way that an albuterol inhaler is good for some people: If you have some mild health issue which is treatable with stimulants, having moderate treatment as part of your diet is better than having no treatment. If coffee is something you seem to need, you might do well to look into things like allergies, respiratory problems, etc.
dotborg 14y ago
why would you care wether it is healthy or not? it will not shorten your life by half

11 points by mcartyem 14y ago

Anything excess is not healthy.

You will find many articles which suggest that coffee is healthy and cures xyz.. and the very next article which will suggest that it will kill you. You be the judge. The safest way to do it, is not to overdo it.

tluyben2 14y ago
Indeed, just moderate with everything you do and you should be safe. But if you read your daily favorite mag or newspaper you can make an easy case that almost everything causes and prevents cancer and causes and prevents coronary issues. All depends on the year it is published; it flips every few years for a lot of things like coffee, milk and so on. I don't think we know too much (yet) and moderation will probably be the safest thing.

debacle 14y ago

In moderate amounts (1-2 cups a day, or a bit more), it has beneficial effects. For people who drink 1-2 pots a day, I've seen it cause gastrointestinal issues, ulcers, reflux, and other issues.

digitalWestie 14y ago
this, everything in moderation son.
- mcartyem 14y ago
  Could one say the same if coffee was replaced with cigarettes?

ttc 14y ago

Brendan Brazier (former professional Ironman triathlete) talks about coffee in his book "Thrive" and explains that you're basically "borrowing energy" that you eventually have to pay off at some point. Coffee in itself is not bad but one should use it wisely.

jyu 14y ago
Are there any other substances that he mentions that are not "borrowing energy"? For instance, maybe there are substances like vitamin B1 that has a general population deficiency.
- debacle 14y ago
  Vitamin D.
- ttc 14y ago
  From Brazier's book, natural stimulants that can be used to enhance performance are e.g. matcha and yerba mate. You can find them at WholeFoods.

cjbprime 14y ago

We don't know. My understanding of the current meta-studies is that there is a slight positive effect on general health and life expectancy associated with drinking reasonable amounts of coffee. But think about that more -- what else could be associated with drinking coffee? People who drink coffee every day might be more likely to have a job, which means (in the US) that they're more likely to have health insurance and higher socioeconomic status, which can cause increases in life expectancy too. Which suggests that it could be the case that if you're thinking about drinking coffee every day, you've probably already benefited from the positive effects regardless of whether you actually go ahead and drink it. While I don't think we're going to be able to isolate the measurement of positive effects, we can say one thing: while we can't measure causal positive effects on health, we're at least not seeing strong negative effects on health from moderate coffee drinking. The argument's just over whether coffee is causing the slightly-better health that people who drink it experience, or merely correlating with it.

jokermatt999 14y ago

According to this article, yes: http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/the-case-for-drinking-as-much-coffee-as-you-like/265693/ http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/11/the-case-f... Seems to cover a lot of studies, but it could be a "submarine" post. http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html

lazyjones 14y ago

If you're asking for scientifically proven statements: I don't know, I doubt anyone does. If you're asking for opinions: after having been a regular (sometimes extreme) coffee drinker for more than 20 years (until about 3 months ago), I'd say no. Whatever disputed positive effects it might have (mildly stimulating, supposedly preventing depression, for me personally it seemed to prevent distraction mostly, but so does suitable music... ), we know for sure that it screws up your sleep and, in many cases, digestive system. I sleep better and am more productive now (I think) than before and on top of that I also got rid of an annoying routine (making coffee N times/day) and a resource I depended on (and might miss during zombie apocalypse, for example). But for people who smoke for example, it's probably negligible either way.

stonewhite 14y ago

If you have a healthy habit of drinking fresh water, drinking moderate amounts of coffee is mostly beneficial, since coffee is a diuretic. Otherwise you may fuzz up your concentration along with your gastrointestinal system.

maxerickson 14y ago
Recent nutritional advice is that moderate amounts of coffee can be counted as hydration. For instance: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661 http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeinated-drinks/AN01661

Mz 14y ago

I have an incurable medical problem, genetic in nature. I have gotten off a lot of prescription medication. How I eat is a big part of how I manage my condition. Caffeine is a stimulant similar to some of the prescription drugs I have gotten off of. I consume plenty of diet coke but I am not a big coffee drinker. I do occassionally drink it for medicinal purposes, usually something mocha since I really am not crazy about coffee. As I resolve underlying issues, my general consumption of coffee, chocolate and diet coke has gone down. I just no longer need so many stimulants, so I just don't crave it. Thus I suspect coffee is "healthy" for some people in much the way that an albuterol inhaler is good for some people: If you have some mild health issue which is treatable with stimulants, having moderate treatment as part of your diet is better than having no treatment. If coffee is something you seem to need, you might do well to look into things like allergies, respiratory problems, etc.

dotborg 14y ago

why would you care wether it is healthy or not? it will not shorten your life by half