What About Coffee? Sept. 29: A Day Of Celebration for Coffee Lovers.

Yes, it is time to celebrate the brewed drink that is often credited with giving us bursts of energy. Coffee, prepared from roasted coffee beans, contains about 95 milligrams of caffeine in an 8-ounce cup – something cherished by those who are always on the go. But is it worth celebrating? Is coffee harmful to your health?

Middlesex Hospital’s Piper Tobler is setting the record straight. She’s not a coffee expert, but she is a registered dietitian, a certified diabetes educator and a certified dietitian nutritionist, and she stays up-to-date on her research.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 2015-2020 dietary guidelines state that drinking three to five 8-ounce cups of coffee each day can be incorporated into healthy eating patterns. The guidelines also state that moderate coffee consumption is not associated with an increased risk of major chronic diseases or premature death.

There are antioxidants in roasted coffee beans, and consumption of these antioxidants may have health benefits. The antioxidants may protect against Parkinson's disease, type 2 diabetes and liver disease, including liver cancer. Coffee may also prevent some brain cell damage associated with Alzheimer's disease and decrease the risk of depression.

Do you need more numbers?
The journal, Annals of Internal Medicine, recently published study results that found people who drank a cup of coffee a day were 12 percent less likely than non-coffee drinkers to die from cancer, a stroke and diabetes, along with heart disease, kidney disease and respiratory disease. People who enjoyed up to three cups of coffee a day were actually 18 percent less likely to die from these conditions.

That’s quite an incentive to have your morning coffee!

So, keeping this information in mind, why is the value of coffee often questioned?

Coffee, whether decaf or regular, may not be bad for you, but what you put in it could be, Tobler says, commenting on society’s love of fancy, flavored drinks. Coffee shops often add in other ingredients, such as flavored syrups, sugar and whipped cream, making coffee-based drinks high in sugar, fat and calories.

The best advice: If you enjoy fancy drinks, try a fat-free milk latte. Otherwise, swap out the cream for low-fat milk, skim milk or plant-based milk, and add a pinch of cinnamon or vanilla powder to give it flavor.

How much is too much?
Research says that ingesting up to 400 milligrams of caffeine in one day does not have any adverse health effects. Regular, moderate intake of coffee actually leads to a tolerance of caffeine and does not appear to negatively impact a person’s health.

Bottom line: We give you permission to celebrate! Enjoy your coffee, but watch what you put in it. Also, remember that if you drink caffeine close to your bedtime, it may keep you awake at night.