posted
With these health claims, including cancer the FDA may very well regulate coffee as a drug. Glad to know I am using legalized drugs........... Coffee can be good for you, experts say By Anne Harding Tue May 1, 12:41 PM ET
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Drinking coffee can help ward off type 2 diabetes and may even help prevent certain cancers, according to panelists discussing the benefits -- and risks -- of the beverage at a scientific meeting.
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"We're coming from a situation where coffee had a very negative health image," Dr. Rob van Dam of the Harvard School of Public Health, who has conducted studies on coffee consumption and diabetes, told Reuters Health. Nevertheless, he added, "it's not like we're promoting coffee as the new health food and asking people who don't like coffee to drink coffee for their health."
Van Dam participated in a "controversy session" on coffee at the Experimental Biology 2007 meeting underway in Washington, D.C.
Dr. Lenore Arab of the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA also took part, presenting results of a review of nearly 400 studies investigating coffee consumption and cancer risk.
There's evidence, Arab noted, that the beverage may protect against certain types of colon cancer, as well as rectal and liver cancer, possibly by reducing the amount of cholesterol, bile acid and natural sterol secretion in the colon, speeding up the passage of stool through the colon (and thus cutting exposure of the lining of the intestine to potential carcinogens in food), and via other mechanisms as well.
However, Arab did find evidence that coffee may increase the risk of leukemia and stomach cancer, with the case for leukemia being strongest.
The findings suggest that people who may be vulnerable to these risks -- for example pregnant women and children -- should limit coffee consumption, van Dam noted in an interview.
He and his colleagues are now conducting a clinical trial to get a clearer picture of the diabetes-preventing effects of coffee, which were first reported in 2002. Since then, he noted, there have been more than 20 studies on the topic.
Van Dam and his team are also looking for which of the "hundreds to thousands" of components of coffee might be responsible for these effects. It's probably not caffeine, he noted, given that decaf and caffeinated coffee have similar effects on reducing diabetes risk.
His top candidate, van Dam says, is chlorogenic acid, an antioxidant that slows the absorption of glucose in the intestines.
Posts: 116 | From Plano, Texas, USA | Registered: May 2004
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Coffee & tea industries are world big. 90% of global population consumes caffeine in some form. There are countries that live from selling teas or coffees.
If someone will write a study about health risks of these beverages, these companies will simply finance more studies that state otherwise.
(,**) There is no way it will be restricted LOL
It took 50 years for cigarettes to be illegal for adolescents.
Posts: 641 | From Wroclaw, Poland | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
How will S 1082 affect coffee if its shown to have health benefits? Coffee is a Food but could be converted to a regulated drug?
Posts: 116 | From Plano, Texas, USA | Registered: May 2004
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Just a coincidence that new research is showing coffee to be healthy after many years of research showed just the opposite (e.g., high blood pressure, heart attacks, etc.). My theory is that Starbucks' @ $4/cup leaves ample profit to fund many favorable research projects and expert opinions.
Posts: 175 | From Colorado | Registered: Feb 2007
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Coffee 'industries' probably love that idea- they can jack up the price a thousandfold and eliminate many workers, while the overlords still rake in the same amount of dough, or more, for far less work and hassle... ...
Look what the regulation scam does to abx!
As far as health benefits or risks of coffee, it's like many things-- it's an herb with many valuable uses, but it does contain some toxins, too; for example, compounds that may be irritants on the stomach (coffee defiunitely raunches my gut if I drink too much of it...) As with any herb, the effects are different on different people, and moderation is generally a good idea, but for in certain situations, a "megadose" may be called for.
DaveS
DaveS
Posts: 4567 | From ithaca, NY, usa | Registered: Nov 2000
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And dare I add tea too? As in medicinal -- very medicinal. I'm sure the FDA will want those tea bags checked too, all of them...
Posts: 13171 | From San Francisco | Registered: May 2006
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
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posted
However, Arab did find evidence that coffee may increase the risk of leukemia and stomach cancer, with the case for leukemia being strongest.
Probably one of the artificial sweetners.
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