Is espresso coffee bad for your health?
I read a recent TIME article claiming that overall, long-term consumption of coffee is beneficial to the average person. However, I also read that espresso coffee, which is all my friends and family drink, don't have the same benefits as the American-style filtered variety (polyphenols and cholesterol). Myself and millions of others could never drink the filtered American coffee style from a taste perspective, so I wanted to check with nutrition experts whether excessive espresso is bad for you?
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Expert consensus not reached
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Michael McMullen has answered Unlikely
An expert from University of Westminster in Nutrition, Pharmocognosy
Only in the rarest of circumstances can drinking espresso coffee have a negative effect on health.
Considering the negatives:
-all hot drinks can damage the mucous membranes of the mouth are throat, however espresso coffee is not drunk very hot whereas hot tea may be very hot. Esophagus cancer may be related to hot tea drinking but not espresso coffee.
-ovarian cancer appears to be related to coffee intake, but not specifically espresso coffee.
Women with ovarian problems could consider removing coffee and caffeinated products from their diet.
-quality espresso coffee is made only from Arabica coffee beans (not Robusta) so that a single shot made from 7½ g ground coffee contains 60-70 mg caffeine. Intake of caffeine greater than 400 mg may produce "caffeinism", so too much coffee is a problem. Notably, in Finland about 20% of the coffee drinking population exceed 800 mg caffeine daily. Robusta beans contain twice the amount of caffeine as Arabica and should be avoided if there are caffeine concerns. Robusta is used for instant coffee and by some coffee chains where the coffee taste is partly negated additives such as milk and sugars.
-coffee contains fats that increase cholesterol, particularly boiled and percolated coffee. For drip coffee, the paper filter soaks up these fats but not the reusable plastic filter. Espresso coffee contains only a limited number of these fats because the water temperature is lower and the exposure time shorter with espresso preparation than other methods of preparation.
-some people with digestive, thyroid and brain function problems feel bad when they drink coffee, obviously they should avoid espresso coffee. pregnant women should restrict caffeine to 200 mg per day
-due it's stimulating activity it may interfere with sleep and perhaps should not be consumed in the evening.
Considering the positives:
-espresso coffee tastes good and brewed roasted coffee, particularly dark roasted, contains extremely high levels of antioxidants - more than blueberries and raspberries - and is an extremely cheap source of antioxidants
-espresso coffee activates the body by stimulating nervous activity via reducing the parasympathetic nervous system rather than by stimulating the hypothalamus- pituitary-adrenal axis
-can clear headaches and reduce blood sugar problems
Answered over 7 years ago
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