{"id":4646,"date":"2022-08-21T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-08-21T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/?p=4646"},"modified":"2022-08-11T06:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-08-11T06:02:00","slug":"mixed-messages-is-coffee-good-or-bad-for-us-it-might-help-but-it-doesnt-enhance-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/modernsciences.org\/staging\/4414\/mixed-messages-is-coffee-good-or-bad-for-us-it-might-help-but-it-doesnt-enhance-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed messages: Is coffee good or bad for us? It might help, but it doesn\u2019t enhance health"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n The chemical properties of coffee are what produce its waking-up effects.\n (Shutterstock)<\/span><\/span>\n <\/figcaption>\n <\/figure>\n\nThomas Merritt<\/a>, Laurentian University<\/a><\/em><\/span>\n\n

Coffee is good for you. Or it\u2019s not. Maybe it is, then it isn\u2019t, then it is again. If you drink coffee, and follow the news, then perhaps you\u2019ve noticed this pattern. <\/p>\n\n

A recent study showed that coffee, even sweetened, was associated with health benefits<\/a>. But other studies have come to more mixed conclusions<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n

What\u2019s driving these pendulum swings in the health status of coffee? Like a good cup of coffee, the answer is complex, but seems to boil down to human nature and scientific practice.<\/p>\n\n

Wishful optimism<\/h2>\n\n

Globally, we consume about two billion cups of coffee each day<\/a>. That\u2019s a lot of coffee, and many of those who imbibe want to know what that coffee is doing to us, in addition to waking us up. <\/p>\n\n

As a species, we are often delusionally optimistic<\/a>. We want the world to be better, maybe simpler, than it is. We squint at our morning cup through those same rosy glasses: We really want coffee to bring us health, not just a sunny disposition.<\/p>\n\n

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