Coffee is good for you

I saw this link (http://zerode.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/coffee-is-good-for-you/) earlier today and thought it was pretty cool at first. I usually like reading these info-graphics, and like many of you I like being told that by drinking coffee I’m choosing a healthy (and tasty!) option.

One thing that I didn’t care for in the infographic is that they didn’t give sources for the health benefits they cite. The other thing is they seem to be advocating in excess of seven cups of coffee a day, which to me seems irresponsible.

It’s not uncommon for at least one article every couple of weeks to show up on Roaste.com extolling some new virtue of drinking coffee. Whether it’s for heart health, diabetes or whatever it’s rare to see anything bad against coffee.

Some  things that come to mind are occasional comments about the dangers of too much caffeine, possible negative impacts to LDL cholesterol levels, contributions of osteoporosis and fluctuations in blood pressure.

Another thing that a lot of people don’t take into consideration is that these kind of reports, much like the reports dealing with tea, are assuming you’re drinking the coffee black. No cream or sugar allowed. I hardly think you’re going to get the same benefits by drinking 2-3 grande carmel macchiatos every day. For some reason I doubt that would have a positive impact in combating diabetes.

One thing that I keep coming back to is everything in moderation. Maybe instead of seven cups of coffee a day, two to three cups should be sufficient. Maybe try to limit the amount of cream and sugar laden cups you drink. The health benefits do exist I’m sure, but does anyone really think that drinking more than 7 cups of coffee per day is a good idea? (besides you coffee roasters/sellers out there :P)