Following a review of more than 200 studies, the British Medical Journal have released a review suggesting there may be health benefits of coffee drinking in moderation and that coffee is safe. In truth, the report suggests that the harm to health associated with coffee drinking may be untrue and, although the findings themselves are inconclusive in many respects, it should reassure many coffee drinkers that their health is not at risk.
Benefits from coffee may include reduced risk of some cancers, liver disease and death from a stroke but ultimately it could not be proven that coffee was the beneficial factor and that people should not start drinking coffee for health reasons.
The clear exception in the report is that too much coffee consumption during pregnancy could be harmful. NHS recommendations for a pregnant woman’s coffee intake is approximately two mugs of instant coffee (no more than 200mg of caffeine a day) as too much coffee can increase risk of miscarriage.
For women at risk of fractures (osteoporosis, etc.), the report determined they should also manage their coffee intake.
In producing these findings, the report openly considers that age, smoking and exercise all remain factors to be considered within a healthy lifestyle but a reduction of heart related problems was observed in comparison with those who didn’t drink coffee.
The actual health benefits of coffee, should they prove true, will require further research and investigation but the underlying advice from researchers is for coffee drinkers to drink “healthy coffees”, avoiding extra sugar, milk or cream, or those tempting sweet or fatty snacks on the side.