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I’m an Epidemiologist. Here’s Why I’m Not Worried About Coffee Consumption
Coffee doesn’t have many (if any) health benefits, but the research is pretty clear that it’s probably not bad for your health either
As a health/science blogger, one of the most common questions I’m asked by people is to do with coffee. People are constantly worried that their coffee intake is either too high, because coffee is apparently bad for your health, or too low, because it’s life-saving. Now, there’s a lot of literature out there on the health impacts of coffee, caffeine, and related drinks, and it’s hard to summarize everything in one article, but the research is relatively consistent — coffee is neither a wonderful cure for your ills nor a terrible poison that is killing you slowly.
Here’s my take on the evidence, and why I am fine with my 2–5 cup-a-day coffee habit.
Coffee Risks
The first side of the equation is the risk from coffee drinking. It’s at this point that it’s worth clarifying that this entire article is predicated on the idea of a relatively average human…
