Confused over coffee

There seems to be a lot of controversies on the health benefits of coffee. While some authorities applaud its health benefits, some others consider it to be bad for health. Kindly clarify.

Habeeb (by SMS)

The current findings are that drinking coffee can be healthy. For example, studies find that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death from any cause compared to people who don’t drink coffee. The benefits of coffee depend on things like how much you drink, your age, being biologically male or female, medicine you take, and even your genes. Some benefits are linked to caffeine.

Other benefits are related to the other components in coffee. But in general, studies find that coffee is linked to health in many ways. Drinking coffee may be linked to a lower risk of: Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease among some groups of people.

Metabolic syndrome and chronic kidney disease. Liver cancer and liver disease, including cirrhosis. Gallstones and kidney stones. Drinking coffee with caffeine has been linked with improved mood and a lower risk of depression in some groups.

Drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee a day is linked to a lower risk of stroke in some studies. However, coffee has some risks, mostly due to caffeine. Taking in too much caffeine can cause anxiety, headache or faster heart rate. Caffeinated coffee can increase heartburn symptoms, also called reflux symptoms.

Urinary symptoms, including frequency and urgency may increase from caffeine.

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