According to a recent study, those who consume two to three cups of coffee every day live longer than those who do not. So, should we all consume two to three cups? No, not always. Let's look at where these figures originate from.
This latest study uses data from the UK Biobank, which has an average age of 58 participants, slightly more than half of whom are women, and nearly 95% of whom are white. The researchers were able to monitor people for an average of 12 years after they responded to a question about how much coffee they consume.
How Many Cups Of Coffee You Should Drink Per Day?
If you're attempting to find out how much coffee to drink, the study contains a lot of restrictions. This group of middle-aged British individuals may not accurately reflect the rest of the globe, but it's not like people chose how much coffee to drink at random.
Income, social status, and perceived health concerns, to mention a few factors, can all influence that decision (Brits also tend to drink a lot of instant coffee and espresso, it turns out). The researchers also took people's self-reported data at its value, assuming that they drank the same amount of coffee throughout time rather than reassessing it.
A review published in the BMJ examined hundreds of prior coffee research and concluded that coffee drinkers have a decreased risk of cardiovascular illness, including stroke, several malignancies, and various liver and gastrointestinal problems. The amount of coffee linked with lower risk was frequently three to four cups per day.
According to the author of that study, people should not stop drinking coffee because of these findings, but if they already do, coffee "may be part of a healthy diet." One of the reasons it's so difficult to pinpoint what's going on with coffee is that it contains hundreds of distinct bioactive components, caffeine being only one of them. The chemical profile might also change based on the beans used and how the coffee is prepared.
But another reason is that these studies aren’t randomly assigning people to be coffee drinkers or not; they’re usually just surveying people about how much coffee they already drink. If your doctor has told you to limit your caffeine because of your blood pressure, let’s say, you’ll show up as a non-coffee-drinker in the study. So people who avoid coffee may have different health-related risk factors than people who drink a lot of it, and that’s not necessarily reflected in the study.
Four cups or less, to be safe
The authors conclude, "Robust randomised controlled trials are required to determine if the observed relationships are causal [i.e., caused by coffee]." For healthy people, the FDA has recognised 400 mg per day of caffeine as a quantity not typically linked with harmful, negative consequences, according to the US Dietary Guidelines. (The recommended limit during pregnancy is 200 milligrammes.)
In other words, coffee isn't so beneficial to one's health that it should be consumed by everyone. However, it is not so harmful that there is a definite limit. Instead, they name a figure that is essentially acceptable. ( Caffeine in such massive quantities would almost certainly be harmful. This is a level that they are quite certain is not tremendous.
For healthy people, the FDA has recognised 400 mg per day of caffeine as a quantity not typically linked with harmful, negative consequences, according to the US Dietary Guidelines. (The recommended limit during pregnancy is 200 milligrammes.) In other words, coffee isn't so beneficial to one's health that it should be consumed by everyone. However, it is not so harmful that there is a definite limit. Instead, they name a figure that is essentially acceptable. (Extreme levels of caffeine are probably harmful.) This is a level that they are reasonably convinced is not excessive.)
So, how much coffee do you have? Most brewed coffee has about 100 milligrammes per 8 fluid ounces. This varies greatly depending on the brand and brewing technique. A 14-ounce Dunkin' Donuts brewed coffee, for example, has 210 milligrammes; a 16-ounce McDonald's coffee has 145. Caffeine Informer will help you find out how much caffeine is in your favourite beverage. Before you purchase, keep in mind that sweetened coffee beverages are one of the most popular sources of added sugars in the diet, according to the recommendations. We should limit additional sugars to less than 10% of total calories, or roughly 50 grammes. Starbucks iced coffee includes 20 grammes of sugar; a caramel Frappucino has 54. In contrast, black coffee has hardly none.
