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Coffee or not; that's the question Researchers are still debating the issue of whether it's bad or good for you. April 18, 2001 - By TRACY WHEELER Knight Ridder Newspapers So let's get this straight: Caffeine is bad for you. Very bad. Aside from contributing to insomnia, anxiety and jitters, caffeine may reduce fertility in women, lead to calcium loss associated with osteoporosis and increase the risk of miscarriages. But wait. Don't dump that cup of coffee down the drain just yet. Caffeine is also good for you. Very good. It may decrease the risk of Parkinson's disease, prevent gallstones, soothe headaches, reduce the risk of colon cancer and even, according to one study, make suicide less likely. So which is it? Wonder drug or poison? "It's definitely (a topic) where studies have gone both ways," says Amy Allina, policy director for the National Women's Health Network. The answer then tends to be a personal one. For instance, if you're concerned about colon cancer or gallstones, maybe your daily intake is fine. If you have frequent headaches, coffee or soda might help. But if sleep is a problem, you may want to avoid caffeine, especially after midafternoon. Or if you're planning to become pregnant, you may want to abstain. Caffeine holds the unofficial title of the world's most popular stimulant, used by four of five Americans on any given day. But its health effects are a matter for debate. Take the studies on miscarriages. The research has been back-and-forth. In November 1999, the New England Journal of Medicine published research that said moderate coffee consumption - two to three cups a day - is not likely to increase the risk of miscarriage (though six cups a day or more does appear to increase the risk). But a second study, published in the journal 13 months later, concluded that one to two cups of coffee per day may indeed increase risk of miscarriage. What's a woman to think? Is a cup or two of coffee OK, or isn't it? It's really up to you, Allina says. The National Women's Health Network isn't comfortable offering advice on such a seesaw topic. "In a situation like this one, where science hasn't come up with a definite answer, we don't have an answer," she says. "What we say is, if you want to be cautious, you might want to avoid products that contain caffeine." But how much is too much? The FDA does not mandate food labeling for caffeine. You might know how many calories and grams of fat are in your Hershey's bar, but not how much caffeine. The Center for Science in the Public Interest gathered more than 30 health professionals, consumer advocates and academicians to lobby the FDA, asking that caffeine content be listed on all food labels. That was in 1997 and has yet to happen. So consumers usually have little idea of how much caffeine they're taking in with their morning cup of coffee (106-164 milligrams per cup with most home-brewed brands), their Mountain Dew (54 milligrams), their iced tea (67-76 milligrams) or even their Ben & Jerry's No Fat Coffee Fudge Frozen Yogurt (85 milligrams per cup). (For a real jolt, the powerful brews at Starbucks are enough to wire most folks for most of a day: A 16-ounce "grande" coffee holds 550 milligrams of caffeine; the 8- ounce "short" at 250 milligrams.) The lesson for now - until science can offer more definitive research - is to trust your instincts, Allina says. With the lack of labeling, she advises, stick with foods you know, even if that means taking time to prepare more of your own meals. "Another thing we say about caffeine is don't be overly anxious," Allina adds. CAFFEINE STUDY RESULTS Some past research on caffeine: Parkinson's disease. In May, the Journal of the American Medical Association carried a study that followed 8,004 men for 30 years. The researchers found that higher coffee and caffeine intake is associated with a "significantly lower" incidence of Parkinson's disease. Those who drank at least 28 ounces of coffee a day were five times less likely to develop Parkinson's. Osteoporosis. A study in a January 1994 issue of JAMA found "significant association" between caffeine consumption and bone loss. But researchers said the bone loss could be held at bay by drinking a cup of milk a day - even while continuing moderate caffeine consumption. Coronary heart disease. After following 20,179 men for 10 years, a study in the December 2000 Archives of Internal Medicine found that coffee drinking does not increase the risk of death from coronary heart disease. In fact, the highest rate of coronary heart disease death was found in those who drank no coffee. http://www.ocregister.com/health_fitness/caffeine00418cci4.shtml ********** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn