Update on Coffee

Update on Coffee
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The benefits of coffee consumption.

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What about coffee? There’s some new data on coffee and liver cancer. Should coffee still be considered good for us?

Yes. We knew it decreased our risk of diabetes, and, there’s new evidence to support that. But what we didn’t know, until last year, is that it protects us from liver cancer as well, protects us from brain cancer, and protects us from death; decreased all-cause mortality.

This should not be a surprise. What is coffee, but beans and water? It’s a plant food. You know how soybeans have those healthy phytoestrogens? Well, now we know; so does coffee.

The reason I do not recommend drinking coffee is that there is something even healthier to drink instead, and that’s tea. Coffee is beans in water; tea is dark green leafies in water, and though both are healthy, certainly, greens beat out beans—and pretty much everything else.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Image thanks to waferboard via Flickr

What about coffee? There’s some new data on coffee and liver cancer. Should coffee still be considered good for us?

Yes. We knew it decreased our risk of diabetes, and, there’s new evidence to support that. But what we didn’t know, until last year, is that it protects us from liver cancer as well, protects us from brain cancer, and protects us from death; decreased all-cause mortality.

This should not be a surprise. What is coffee, but beans and water? It’s a plant food. You know how soybeans have those healthy phytoestrogens? Well, now we know; so does coffee.

The reason I do not recommend drinking coffee is that there is something even healthier to drink instead, and that’s tea. Coffee is beans in water; tea is dark green leafies in water, and though both are healthy, certainly, greens beat out beans—and pretty much everything else.

To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.

Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.

Image thanks to waferboard via Flickr

Doctor's Note

Check out these videos on coffee and health:
Preventing Liver Cancer with Coffee
Coffee and Artery Function
Coffee and Cancer
What About the Caffeine?

And check out my other videos on coffee. 

Also see my associated blog post, Eating To Extend Our Lifespan.

If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here.

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22 responses to “Update on Coffee”

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  3. Great new web site! I really like the format of the short videos, esp. since you provide shots of the papers that you are summarizing the information from.

    One comment about the “coffee is good for you” message in this video. It is not supported by one of the articles you show an image of. Specifically, the article “Trigonelline Is a Novel Phytoestrogen in
    Coffee Beans” by Allred et al concludes that Trigonelline that is found in coffee “stimulates the
    growth of estrogen-dependent breast tumors in vivo”.

    Coffee good for you? I have significant reservations as to whether this is really true.

    Nick

    Reply

  4. Interesting video, but I’m staying away from coffee. Most coffee drinkers I know look unhealthy. I’m not saying it’s the coffee, but there’s something about that lifestyle that I want no part of. Plus, how good does it taste without the milk/cream/sugar — the nasties?

    Reply

  5. Question on purines and gout:  I just started the plant based, “face free” diet as advocated in Fork over Knife.  During the past 10 years, while eating a typical American Diet (low fat, but with dairy and meat), I have experienced gout like symptoms in my big toe and ankle and can definitely associate it with eating lima beans (one of my favorites).  Can I expect this issue to remediate with the new diet?  Currently scared to eat limas, and tread carefully when trying new varieties of beans.

    Reply

  8. I tried coffee once and got addicted for a year. Then I started getting insomnia, palpitations and other problems. I decided to quit drinking. I felt so much better after about a week and never touched coffee since. I believe the risks outweigh the benefits with coffee. I’d rather eat my veggies, beans, whole grains and fruits and use sunscreen to decrease my risks of getting skin cancer. I also read this article 2 years ago http://www.forbes.com/sites/travisbradberry/2012/08/21/caffeine-the-silent-killer-of-emotional-intelligence/ and through my own experience and what I see happen with regular coffee drinkers, I’m happy I quit drinking coffee.

    Reply

  9. Any thoughts/studies on the ‘benefits’ of medical marijuana? and, can a person O.D. on pot, as an article from Britian just suggested?

    Reply

  10. Michael and Staff, your work is the most significant right now in our country,(since we influence the world). You have certainly influenced my and husbands health. I tell everyone about this site. My birthday present from hubby will be a donation.

    Reply

  11. I have heard that coffee can cause hormonal imbalance leading to the formation of ovarian cysts. Have you heard anything about this? Also, although you advocate green tea consumption, I have heard that it is very high in fluoride and that fluoride causes cognitive decline. Any thoughts on this?

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  15. Hi Dr. Greger. I am a fan. I have a question. The last sentence says “Greens beat out beans (and pretty much everything else)” but didn’t we learn that beans are the single determinant in global life expectancy?

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  16. Hold on, studies have showed that coffee raises cholesterol levels whilst green tea lowers them. If you are a cholesterol hypothesis fan as Dr Gregor appears to be then coffee could be a bad idea for some

    Reply

  17. Hello,

    I am trying to find some definitive answers on the bioavailability of Niacin in coffee. I’ve looked into some resources which confirm coffee should have enough Niacin on its own to meet daily needs (A. Carvalho 1962 | R.F. Smith 1963) . However I’m still not sure if one can rely (on a whole foods vegan diet) quasi exclusively coffee for Niacin ? (Carvalho says 3.5 cups of daily coffee only gives 1/3 of the RDA, not sure how)

    I eat the exact type of diet you recommend: vegan, only non-or-little-processed plant foods, plenty of fruits and vegetables and whole grains & beans. I have recently noticed though that my eyesight sometimes profoundly sharpens after drinking coffee. And according to my knowledge about my diet, I know I get most of my Niacin from coffee (yes even on a whole foods plant based diet), so I was wondering could it be that my diet is missing some Niacin due to maybe bad absorption from coffee ? (which would explain the improvement shortly after drinking it). This is related to a chronic neck tension headache I have, and therefore I’m trying my best to elucidate all related problems.

    Thanks

    Reply

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