More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think • Hacker News Board

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#31

Post by dghughes » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:02 PM UTC

Kurtz79 wrote: post #3

mariusz79 wrote: post #2

It's a drug. It's full of harmful chemicals because of the way it's processed. It affects mind and body, often negatively. But it's great money maker so we will be hearing more about its "benefits" in a near future.

Also tobacco and alcohol are big moneymakers, but there is a large consensus about their negative effects, and that's why their use (or abuse) is discouraged, by doctors and governments alike. So either: - The coffee "lobby" is more effective than the tobacco and alcohol lobbies. - Maybe all drugs cannot be dumped in the same bin, and we should treat them case by case, critically.

Fun fact smokers process/eliminate caffeine from their bodies quicker than non-smokers.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#32

Post by matwood » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:03 PM UTC

Diederich wrote: post #15

For some people with GERD, coffee is very bad for them. My wife switched from coffee to tea for this reason. Tea is pretty fabulous for her, and I gather there's at least some documented health benefits on that front as well. Edit: GERD = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease Second Edit: To be clear: I agree with the parent article, I think coffee is close to harmless for MOST people, and very…

Tea is awesome. It has the caffeine, but has another drug which is more calming. For people who get a bit manic with coffee, tea is often the thing that works for them.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#33

Post by chatwinra » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:05 PM UTC

mironathetin wrote: post #22

Without the information who financed these numerous research results, they are not worth the time to read them or to write about them, imho.

You have to view it at an individual study/paper level (ie: go to the link and pdf via the article). They have to declare sources of funding in the papers, so you can trace funding origins and conflicts of interests from those declarations in each study.

The article itself does a nice job of linking to every necessary study - sometimes they don't bother and then you do start to get worried about how much of the content is accurate.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#34

Post by Rapzid » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:05 PM UTC

0359B02149AB wrote: post #23

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

Anecdotally, I would agree with you for some, but for others not so much. I get a short boost followed by a long crash when drinking coffee. It's also like an unfocused focus - like as long as what I want to focus on is nearby, I will do that. But if I have to figure out what I want to focus on, that feels like frustration and hypertension. I prefer tea. I get up at 4:50 am 5 days a week, and I rarely sleep past 7-8…

Wow guys, I also have rather bad times on coffee! Its really hard for me to find any information on the subject as well.

Sometimes I have really bad times of it, particularly on low sleep(ironic?). It can cause me to become a bit more anxious, have trouble conversing with people as if I'm hungover, and cause context swiching issues.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#35

Post by rubiquity » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:08 PM UTC

erikb wrote: post #10

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

I'd argue that coffee is connected to a rather unhealthy lifestyle of sitting in an office chair the whole day, eating unhealthy fast-/restaurant food instead of cooking for yourself, working long hours instead of a regular 7 to 5 schedule etc.

> I'd argue that coffee is connected to a rather unhealthy [...] working long hours instead of a regular 7 to 5 schedule etc.

Since when did 7-5 (which is 10 hours) become regular?

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#36

Post by YorkianTones » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:08 PM UTC

matwood wrote: post #32

Diederich wrote: post #15

For some people with GERD, coffee is very bad for them. My wife switched from coffee to tea for this reason. Tea is pretty fabulous for her, and I gather there's at least some documented health benefits on that front as well. Edit: GERD = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease Second Edit: To be clear: I agree with the parent article, I think coffee is close to harmless for MOST people, and very…

Tea is awesome. It has the caffeine, but has another drug which is more calming. For people who get a bit manic with coffee, tea is often the thing that works for them.

L-Theanine one of those other drugs found in green/black/white tea, and it produces a calming effect. The Japanese even put it in bubble gum.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#37

Post by bkmartin » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:11 PM UTC

Diederich wrote: post #15

For some people with GERD, coffee is very bad for them. My wife switched from coffee to tea for this reason. Tea is pretty fabulous for her, and I gather there's at least some documented health benefits on that front as well. Edit: GERD = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease Second Edit: To be clear: I agree with the parent article, I think coffee is close to harmless for MOST people, and very…

This is very true. I have LPR (not GERD, but often mistaken for it) and reducing coffee consumption to reduce stomach acid production is the driver here. Tea can, I'm sure have benefits... but what kind of tea? You can make "Tea" out of anything. Coffee is very specific, Tea is way to general. You would have to study so many specific types of tea to see where and how much benefits exists.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#38

Post by marvel_boy » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:14 PM UTC

Diederich wrote: post #15

For some people with GERD, coffee is very bad for them. My wife switched from coffee to tea for this reason. Tea is pretty fabulous for her, and I gather there's at least some documented health benefits on that front as well. Edit: GERD = http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastroesophageal_reflux_disease Second Edit: To be clear: I agree with the parent article, I think coffee is close to harmless for MOST people, and very…

GERD?

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#39

Post by jklein11 » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:16 PM UTC

0359B02149AB wrote: post #23

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

Anecdotally, I would agree with you for some, but for others not so much. I get a short boost followed by a long crash when drinking coffee. It's also like an unfocused focus - like as long as what I want to focus on is nearby, I will do that. But if I have to figure out what I want to focus on, that feels like frustration and hypertension. I prefer tea. I get up at 4:50 am 5 days a week, and I rarely sleep past 7-8…

The OP was saying that being lonely is worse for your health than drinking coffee.

Re: More Consensus on Coffee’s Benefits Than You Might Think

#40

Post by rsync » Mon, May 11, 2015, 3:19 PM UTC

MrJagil wrote: post #4

Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers. I.e. it is perhaps quite good for you to get up every morning at 9am and go to work. Active lifestyle, continuous stimuli etc. Coffee just so happens to be very ingrained in that culture. It might not be the actual chemicals and nutrients of coffee that helps you, but the fact…

"Coffee itself might not have anything to do with it; rather, coffee follows a certain lifestyle which is healthier than that of non-drinkers."

I think it's much simpler than even that.

Health fads and science results come and go, but over thousands of years humans develop (just a few) heuristics based on subtle observations along the way. One of the best of those heuristics is "an apple a day keeps the doctor away".

Bear with me here...

Is it flavonoids ? Special anti-oxidants ? Some weird apple chemical that we can isolate and realize all of our dashed resveratrol hopes with ? No. An apple a day keeps the doctor away because it keeps your bowels moving, all else being equal. That's it. Just a big, boring macro effect on your body and your bodies primary consumption/waste pathway.

I suspect the same is true with coffee. Special secret antioxidants ? Natures hidden chemical compounds we can distill into a pill ? No ... coffee is just a good laxative[1] and if you're having 2-3 cups of coffee a day you're (all else being equal) moving waste along (relatively) more efficiently.

Which is great. Nothing to be sneezed at - just like the apples - but also nothing exotic or confounding.

[1] http://www.onemedical.com/blog/live-well/why-coffee-makes-me...