A coffee from Tim Hortons generally contains between 110 to 330 milligrams of caffeine, depending on which size you choose. A coffee from the Starbucks in the Centre for Film and Theatre has even more caffeine, generally between 175 to 410 mg. You love your coffee, maybe you can’t even go without it. But what is all that caffeine really doing for your health?
We all understand why we drink coffee. The caffeine in it increases alertness and reduces fatigue, and thus can help you pay attention in class and stay up late to finish an assignment. Drinking coffee also improves cognitive functions such as decision-making and reaction time. Coffee is an ergogenic aid as well, meaning that it improves performance during long periods of exhausting exercise, including sports such as cycling, running, swimming, and tennis.
But regularly drinking coffee can have long-term effects on your health as well. These have been summarized in Coffee: Emerging Health Effects and Disease Prevention by Yi-Fang Chu of Kraft Foods.
There is some evidence that coffee offers neuroprotection against injury to or degeneration of the body’s nervous system. This also suggests that drinking coffee could help prevent Alzheimer’s Disease. Coffee consumption is also associated with a lower risk of developing Parkinson’s Disease, though the role of caffeine in particular is unclear.
Studies have shown that drinking about three cups of coffee per day can reduce the risk or severity of liver damage and is generally beneficial for liver function. Drinking coffee also seems to be good for preventing the development of Type 2 diabetes.At the highest levels of consumption, the risk is reduced by almost 50 per cent.
There is also evidence to suggest that drinking coffee does not increase the risk of cancer, and in fact decreases it in the case of liver, kidney, breast, and colorectal cancers.
An area where coffee may not be as generous with its benefits is mental health. For example, though coffee consumed in moderate amounts is known to decrease the risk of suicide, overdosing on caffeine increases that same risk. Drinking too much coffee can also cause addiction, irritability, nervousness, and sleep disorders. Excessive caffeine intake has also been linked to symptoms of depression, while suddenly giving up coffee can worsen those symptoms.
So, how do you know if you’re having too much caffeine? Health Canada recommends that healthy adults should have no more than 400 milligrams per day. It is also important to remember that coffee alone is not going to produce the beneficial effects on health described above. A generally healthy lifestyle is key to reaping the benefits of every cup of coffee you drink.
Cedric Cruz, Contributor
Hassam Munir, Sports and Health Editor
