The advantages and disadvantages of drinking coffee

So, is coffee good or bad for you?

There has long been debate over whether coffee is ultimately good or bad for the body.

A stream of studies have prodded its link with heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer’s, obesity, the risk of stroke and more.

In 2012 the National Institute of Health in the United States found that coffee consumption could actually be linked to longer life expectancy.

However, researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health say the positives and negatives of caffeine probably cancel out.

Both sets of researchers caution that more research is needed to confidently draw either conclusion.


The benefits of drinking coffee:

• Stimulates adrenaline making you more alert
• Contains antioxidants which repair body damage
• May stimulate the production of anti-depressant chemicals in the brain
• Some evidence it lowers the risk of heart disease

The drawbacks of drinking coffee:

• May increase cholesterol levels
• Risk factor associated with osteoporosis in women
• Mildly addictive and can cause irritability and stress
• Can lead to insomnia and lack of sleep