What’s with the Stigma Attached to Coffee?
by Djulia Montana ‘tahna’ de Veyra
There has always been a stigma attached to coffee. Despite the influx of studies claiming that coffee actually offers health benefits, people still hardly think of coffee as something that’s good for them. Hmmm.. What could be the reason behind this?
Looking Back
It’s been 27 years since the New York Times published an article featuring a study that linked coffee to pancreatic cancer. This was bad news hurled to millions of coffee lovers across the globe. And it only served to fuel the growing speculations that coffee drinking was to be blamed for a number of health problems. The list was a long one, including ulcers, heart attacks, high blood pressure, birth defects, gout, cancers and anxiety.
It’s easy to get dissuaded by a study that’s conducted by Harvard School of Public Health scientists, especially if the research group’s leader—Dr. Brian MacMahon—is so convinced by the results that he instantly quit drinking coffee.
The study did not start off with the intention of pointing at coffee as the cancer’s perpetrator. It was mainly an unexpected statistical link that rose from a study that aimed at examining the relationships between pancreatic cancer and a number of personal factors—occupation, diet, alcoholic drinks, cigarette smoking, tea and coffee. The scientists were surprised to find that among the factors under study, only coffee showed a strong association with pancreatic cancer.
Results were Inconclusive
The National Coffee Association retracted by emphasizing the fact that the Harvard scientists did not confirm any cause and effect relationship. The trade group also pointed out that the study comprised subjects who were hospitalized (644 patients were used for the Control Group), and that many of these patients suffered from illnesses involving the digestive tract. This means that they were under dietary habits that were ‘less than normal’ and would not account for the general population.
Moreover, another prestigious medical journal—the Lancet—maintains that no convincing evidence pinpointing coffee as the direct cause of any type of illness is in existence. And the only harm that’s been found to be caused by coffee is the creation of anxiety among heavy users.
Recent Studies
After 20 years of research (of reassuring research at that), the Harvard Women’s Health Watch and the Harvard Health Letter seem to almost refer to coffee as a health potion, citing numerous benefits of moderate coffee consumption. As it turns out, not only is coffee ‘not’ risky to your health, it even offers a number of benefits. And the list of diseases coffee helps to fight is long—type 2 diabetes, gallstones, colon cancer, liver damage and Parkinson’s Disease.
It still comes as a surprise for many people—something that used to be questionable to man’s health suddenly becomes a health drink. Understandably, many are yet to be reassured.
Where do you stand in all these?