Hi.
I saw this http://english.pravda.ru/science/health ... 8-coffee-0 in Pravda.Ru about the possible dangers of drinking coffee. What do you think?
Theodore.

That is a funny article. Thanks for a good chuckle; what is that the Russian "National Enquirer" ? Seriously though, the vast preponderance of scientific research suggests that a moderate amount of coffee or tea can be good for your health. This sensationalism is a bit like saying we should avoid drinking water because people drown in it every year.

Nothing very new or scientific in that article.

These questions are always silly on their face. Which of life's consumable pleasures are irrefutably harmful in moderation? And which are irrefutably safe in excess? None.

I wonder how harmful consuming excessive amounts of organic, shade-grown, tie-dyed, harmoniously sprouted soy beans would be? Especially when used as a base for lots and lots of, well, "tasty" (technically) soy-lattes!

Now a real question would be to ask whether BAD coffee is harmful (to something other than your senses). The primary function of canned coffee for most folks is drug abuse, and a real point can be made about the negative health effects of crude drug-dependency. I know, I am an addict! (Anyone here who has abstained from coffee for a day or two and experienced the almost crippling head pain that accompanies it should seriously consider just how silly it sounds to blanketly assert that coffee poses no health risks).

Seriously though, how many people can really savor and enjoy 7 double-shots a day? It is not hard to discern when the threshold of moderation has been broken - it is when you stop being able to truly enjoy something, and simply consume it for consumptions sake. Enrichment, enjoyment, etc are justifiable reasons to for everything we do, and certainly outweighs the possibility of adverse effects in most instances. Where the real health dangers have arisen is from absolutely silly attempts to take enjoyment out of the equation so that moderation need not be heeded. Think margarine, aspartame, and the like.

Presumably, addicts cannot moderate their use. However, addiction is not unhealthy in itself, and moderate quantities can be. I used to smoke. The medical advice was that moderate use of tobacco was unhealthy, while being flat out addicted to nicotine gum was fine. So I was a nicotine gum junkie for about twenty years.

Water is deadly if you drink too much of it.
Dragging out my curmudgeon overcoat, I wish we could put a moratorium (forever, actually) on this subject thread. I suspect the TLC (Tea Lovers Consortium, my acronym) authors these threads.






Edit....on the other hand, Theodore is a good guy...misguided maybe, but a good guy nonetheless!

I have wondered: Does the degree of freshness of the roasted coffee bean affect the positive/negative health aspects of coffee consumption?

The coffee studies, I have seen, do not mention the source of the coffee, if it is a month old, or pre-ground, or relatively fresh.

Howard

Once in college I had let some coffee grounds sit damp in the Mr. Coffee for about a week. They had begun to get a bit moldy but I was desperate and brewed it up. The resulting cup caused me to hallucinate dancing Indians, psychedelic colors, and melting walls.

So, yes, now I am of the opinion that it is important to have fresh coffee grounds.