http://www.care2.com/greenliving/coffee-good-and-green.html
Coffee: Good and Green
By Melissa Breyer, Senior Editor, Care2 Healthy and Green Living
It’s such good news. Last week The New York Times published an article debunking every myth about coffee that has had me covertly wincing with my daily second cup of beloved joe. I love coffee, as in head over heels, light of my life, can’t live without.
Although coffee’s high level of antioxidants has given it a boost in the PR department lately, there have still been those lingering whispers of “heart disease, hypertension, cancer, bone loss”–yikes. So in a broad gesture of denial, I have celebrated the antioxidants and dismissed the rest. Now the time has come for some whole-hearted embracing. Here’s the dish, as reported in The Times:
An analysis of 10 studies of more than 400,000 people found no increase in heart disease among daily coffee drinkers, whether their coffee came with caffeine or not.
A study of 155,000 nurses, women who drank coffee with or without caffeine for a decade were no more likely to develop hypertension than non-coffee drinkers.
An international review of 66 studies last year, scientists found coffee drinking had little if any effect on the risk of developing pancreatic or kidney cancer
Coffee and tea drinkers who consume the currently recommended amount of calcium need not worry about caffeine’s effect on their bones.
Like I said, such good news, and it gets even better when the story turns to health benefits, yes benefits. Decreased risk of Parkinson’s disease and Type 2 diabetes, improved memory and ability to perform complex tasks, and enhanced aerobic endurance. Maybe the best news, which is really just old news to me, was the report of “an improved sense of well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability.” No wonder that second cup has me swooning, now without that little tug of “but should I?”
How to Brew the Greatest Greenest Cup
Coffee enthusiasts swear by the press pot, aka the French Press, popularized in the United States by Bodum. Press pot brewing retains more of coffee’s flavor and essential oils that might otherwise be filtered out by a paper filter. In terms of energy efficiency, the manual press pot requires only the energy to heat the water (an electric kettle is most efficient). Americans spend $400 million annually on electricity for their coffeemakers–press pots, virtually nothing. For a detailed tutorial on how to brew the best press pot coffee, let the The Coffee Geek show you how.
When selecting your coffee, opt for Fair Trade, organic, or shade grown–coffees farmed with these farmer and planet-friendly systems are becoming increasingly available in the mainstream marketplace.
Read the full New York Times here.
And read Dr. Brent’s response to the question, Does Coffee Cause Ulcers?
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23 comments
add your comment »I AM NOT AN EXPECT ON NUTRITION BUT OTHER RESEARCH BY THE CDC ASKS US TO ABSTAIN FROM COFFEE, SO WHICH IS WHICH
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why is this inappropriate?
Why is it so hard for Americans to admit that they like, and will continue using them, something that is not so good for them. I once had lunch with my sister and ordered what I wished. When she asked me why I ordered that, I said I wanted it. She said, "Wow, imagine ordering something because you want it". She drinks a cup of wheat grass each morning. I am a coffee drinker. If I had to get up every AM and face a cup of "green" grass, I'd rather not get up. Life is full of "goodies" that make life worth living. We will all die at some point, who wants to live forever denying oneself good and tasty things? Come on, folks, get human. Remember MODERATION doesn't mean NEVER. PS: I have smoked cigarettes for 62 years. Just now, this year I must cut back to none. I'm 69, have 28% left to my lungs, and don't regret a simgle puff. I'll be 70 next year. Do I want to live to 100 in this economy and with so many people suffering, without jobs, homes, under Chinese rule? Nope!
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Good article. But I wouldn't say coffee is necessarily "green." While buying fair trade coffee is great for some of the workers rights issues that come up, it's still something that we have to have shipped from thousands of miles away, and therefore has a pretty high carbon footprint. So, good for you? Maybe. Green? No.
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James: The book I quoted for Top 10 Foods That Increase Cancer Risk suggests avoiding "Baked goods, for the acrylamide." The New York Times article referred to here states that "In an international review of 66 studies last year, scientists found coffee drinking had little if any effect on the risk of developing pancreatic or kidney cancer. In fact, another review suggested that compared with people who do not drink coffee, those who do have half the risk of developing liver cancer. And a study of 59,000 women in Sweden found no connection between coffee, tea or caffeine consumption and breast cancer."
I'm not sure why The NY Times didn't dive in further on the acrylamide question or look at other types of cancer. And I'm not sure why the authors of the book omitted coffee.
In the past I have referred to studies that go against what I would like to think--if either of these said coffee causes cancer, I would have still posted it. That said, the coffee-cancer issue seems a bit fuzzy. I think I'll stick with my daily cup for the antioxidants; until there's compelling science that suggests I do otherwise.
Thank you for you keen observation!
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But in a different, earlier, article, you suggest that we avoid anything that might contain acrylamide, which is linked to cancer. Brewed coffee is known to contain relatively high levels of acrylamide. So this confuses me. If there is no link between coffee and cancer, then why are we to avoid *anything* with acrylamides in it? It doesn't make sense that one type of high acrylamide food must be avoided strictly because of the cancer risk acrylamide causes, and another type of high acrylamide food is ok because it shows no risk of cancer even though it should because of the high levels of acrylamide. Are you picking and choosing your scientific reports to bolster whatever view you want to project?
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We can get ground coffee here in Italy with a low cost store (LIDL) which is FairTrade, so organic or fair coffee doesn't have to be expensive.
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After going through Melissa's and other comments, I can easily agree with Katherine that "everything is good in moderation."
I also agree with Lisa Vincent that "caffeine shoots blood pressure from the root."
As a coffee lover, it is quite obvious that I like views in favor of coffee; at the same time one has to remember that it is the caffeine which keeps coffee lovers "awake, active and energetic."
Conclusion: Non coffee drinkers should not start drinking it to get any "benefits" and coffee "addicts" should try to cut their intake. Coffee lovers having a cup or sometimes two cups a day should continue to enjoy!
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were the new york times sponsored by starbucks or what? Picking what you want from several reports does not prove to be conclusive evidence that coffee is good for you. Coffee increases homocysteine levels dramatically in the blood with just one cup and a high homocysteine level is the best indicator available for condtions such as heart disease,stroke, alzheimers...you know,all the small problems. Coffee is an anti nutrient, those drinking it should not think they are doing their body any favours.
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I agree full-heartedly! I don't necessarily agree that the coffee press is the 'greenest' way to make coffee though. I prefer my coffee toddy, it's a cold brew system that makes a concentrate. It works for tea as well. Seems more natural to me and it's makes low acid coffee. It's economical saving on coffee $ spent and there's less waste. My family has been using this system for generations. I got mine at Cost Plus World Market years ago. If anybody is interested in it, the link is http://www.toddyproducts.com/.
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The New York Times story was pandering, nothing less. In fact, we've known cigarettes can kill you for 50 years now. And yet with 1,000 years of epidemiological evidence of human coffee consumption combined with years of seemingly weekly research projects, all we get is "inconclusive"?
Please. This is medical infotainment at its worst. There is no reason we should be wasting our medical research resources on pusuing a flogging-a-dead-horse area of research for the mere fact that consumers jump all over this stuff every week as if it were gospel and that coffee will either kill you or help you live to 150.
If coffee was really that bad or that good for you, don't you think we would have known by now -- given how many decades ago we figured it out for cigarettes, for example? Fact is that coffee is irrelevant to your health, but research keeps getting funded because news stories about it keep making the headlines.
Say "no" to medical infotainment. It's a colossal waste on the order that no $400 million in electricity charges can compare.
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