Life's Guilty Pleasures: The Health Benefits of Caffeine

Caffeine. It's in out coffee, our soft drinks, our chocolates, even our pain relievers. And it's bad for us, right? Let's not be too hasty jumping on that decaf bandwagon. Like so many other things that we were told were bad for us (hello butter, goodbye margarine), more and more studies are showing that there are considerable health benefits that caffeine provides.

Myths

First, lets debunk several myths and distortions that have been pinned to caffeine. First caffeine does not cause cancer. In fact, studies are showing a decrease in the risk of several types of cancer in consumers of caffeine. The same is true with cardiovascular or arterial disease. Consuming caffeine has been shown to bring benefits, not harm.

Another myth is that caffeine causes calcium depletion, and can lead to osteoporosis. While studies on this are mixed regarding children and caffeine, it has been found that calcium depletion in adults is not the problem it once was. According to the governments National Institute for Biotechnology Information, any negative effects of caffeine can be offset with drinking as little as 1-2 tablespoons of milk. The major culprit has been found to be a lack of calcium in the diet, not too much caffeine.

Caffeine has long been thought to cause an increase in blood pressure. While this myth is partially true, the problem is not the evil it was once thought to be. There is a small increase in blood pressure after consuming caffeine, however, that increase is about the same as the increase you would get from a small amount of physical exertion, like climbing a flight of stairs. This increase is short lived, and after several minutes the blood pressure has been found to return to normal.

Health Benefits

So what are the health benefits?