1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,440 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff production of I Heart Radio. Hi 2 00:00:06,519 --> 00:00:09,640 Speaker 1: brain Stuff. I'm Lauren Vogelbaum and this this is another 3 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:14,400 Speaker 1: classic from our archives. In this episode we consider coffee, 4 00:00:14,560 --> 00:00:17,920 Speaker 1: which I am drinking as I write this intro. Every 5 00:00:17,920 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 1: few years, it seems there's another round of mildly sensational 6 00:00:21,560 --> 00:00:24,960 Speaker 1: headlines about how it's great for you or the very worst. 7 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:30,560 Speaker 1: So let's break down the science. Hey, brain Stuff, Lauren 8 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,159 Speaker 1: vogel Bomb. Here. Coffee is a beverage with laura and legend, 9 00:00:34,200 --> 00:00:38,120 Speaker 1: as rich as a double caramel latte, but far more contrary. 10 00:00:39,120 --> 00:00:41,960 Speaker 1: An advertisement from the first coffee house in England promoted 11 00:00:41,960 --> 00:00:45,560 Speaker 1: coffee is good against sore eyes and excellent to prevent 12 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: and cure the dropsy, gout and scurvy. But in the 13 00:00:49,040 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: early seventeen hundreds, Germans believed the beverage made women sterile. 14 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:55,120 Speaker 1: But an old wives tale states that have bubbles appear 15 00:00:55,160 --> 00:00:56,880 Speaker 1: in your java, you're due to come into some money, 16 00:00:57,280 --> 00:00:59,200 Speaker 1: which wouldn't be a bad thing considering the price of 17 00:00:59,200 --> 00:01:02,360 Speaker 1: a cup of these days. In more recent times, another 18 00:01:02,400 --> 00:01:05,440 Speaker 1: idea took hold of the public's imagination regarding coffee, that 19 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:08,679 Speaker 1: it had the power to stunt a child's growth. But 20 00:01:08,959 --> 00:01:11,720 Speaker 1: just as a pot of coffee boiling over doesn't actually 21 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: mean that it's going to rain, which was a thing 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,280 Speaker 1: that people thought at one point, the assertation that the 23 00:01:16,319 --> 00:01:19,319 Speaker 1: drink makes for a nation of hobbits has been proven false. 24 00:01:20,760 --> 00:01:23,440 Speaker 1: How coffee got associated with this myth is cloaked in 25 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,880 Speaker 1: the espresso steam of history, but most experts agree that 26 00:01:26,920 --> 00:01:29,240 Speaker 1: it has something to do with an early study linking 27 00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:33,920 Speaker 1: caffeine to reduced bone mass and osteoporosis. Those studies, however, 28 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: were conducted on elderly people whose diets were lacking in calcium, 29 00:01:37,480 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: which could easily have explained the loss of bone mass. 30 00:01:40,959 --> 00:01:44,240 Speaker 1: Subsequent studies showed that women ages sixty five to seventy 31 00:01:44,240 --> 00:01:47,559 Speaker 1: seven who drank about eighteen ounces of caffeine daily did 32 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: have greater bone loss over a three year period than 33 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:53,000 Speaker 1: those who did not, but the effects occurred only in 34 00:01:53,040 --> 00:01:56,640 Speaker 1: women with unusual variations in their vitamin D cell receptors, 35 00:01:56,920 --> 00:01:59,919 Speaker 1: and the effects were completely mitigated if the women ingested 36 00:02:00,040 --> 00:02:04,400 Speaker 1: they're recommended daily one thousand, two hundred milligrams of calcium. 37 00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:07,960 Speaker 1: Focusing exclusively on children, A more recent study tract eighty 38 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,600 Speaker 1: one teenagers for six years. The result there was no 39 00:02:11,720 --> 00:02:15,040 Speaker 1: difference in bone density between the biggest buzz catchers and 40 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,320 Speaker 1: those who drank the least amount of caffeine. But just 41 00:02:18,360 --> 00:02:20,560 Speaker 1: because a cup of Joe won't keep your little Joe's 42 00:02:20,560 --> 00:02:23,560 Speaker 1: and Josephine's pint sized all their lives doesn't mean that 43 00:02:23,560 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: there isn't cause to be concerned about children and coffee. 44 00:02:27,360 --> 00:02:30,040 Speaker 1: These days, coffee creations can seem more like a dessert 45 00:02:30,120 --> 00:02:32,360 Speaker 1: than a simple pick me up in a cup. The 46 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:35,120 Speaker 1: Starbucks menu include such treats as a mint mocha chip 47 00:02:35,160 --> 00:02:38,239 Speaker 1: frappuccino blended with chocolate and tapped with whipped cream, while 48 00:02:38,320 --> 00:02:41,360 Speaker 1: Duncan Donuts offers up vanilla bean Kolata's that list corn 49 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,519 Speaker 1: syrup not once, but twice on their ingredients list, along 50 00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:48,760 Speaker 1: with sugar and sweetened condensed skim milk. So although it's 51 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,919 Speaker 1: been proven that there are relatively minor health issues associated 52 00:02:51,960 --> 00:02:56,959 Speaker 1: with caffeine jitteriness, anxiety, heartburn, insomnia, it's actually the other 53 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: ingredients that are added to coffee, especially sugar, that have 54 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,280 Speaker 1: nutritionists worried. It's no secret that America has a burgeoning 55 00:03:04,320 --> 00:03:07,919 Speaker 1: problem with childhood obesity and diabetes, and eight hundred and 56 00:03:07,960 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: sixty calorie packed drinks like the large Koolatta are not helping. 57 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,880 Speaker 1: This is particularly troubling when, according to the National Coffee Association, 58 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: eighteen to twenty four year olds represent the fastest growing 59 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:22,360 Speaker 1: segment of people turning on to coffee every year. In 60 00:03:22,400 --> 00:03:25,560 Speaker 1: addition to expanding young waistlines, coffee can cause the mouth 61 00:03:25,600 --> 00:03:28,720 Speaker 1: to dry out, which contributes to tooth decay. The problem 62 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:31,600 Speaker 1: is compounded by the fact that the tanic aciding coffee 63 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:35,280 Speaker 1: can stain teeth enamel, giving some grins an unwanted mocuchi 64 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,360 Speaker 1: no tinge and coffee doesn't just affect the health of twentysomethings. 65 00:03:39,680 --> 00:03:42,520 Speaker 1: Pregnant women are also warned to consume no more than 66 00:03:42,600 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: two cups per day. Researchers in England found that pregnant 67 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:48,560 Speaker 1: women who drank more than two hundred milligrams of caffeine 68 00:03:48,600 --> 00:03:51,720 Speaker 1: per day, the amount in two average sized cups of coffee, 69 00:03:51,960 --> 00:03:55,280 Speaker 1: were more likely to give birth to underweight babies. Lower 70 00:03:55,320 --> 00:03:58,839 Speaker 1: birth weights can also lead to spontaneous miscarriages, another health 71 00:03:58,840 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: concern with which caffeine has previously been associated. But if 72 00:04:02,720 --> 00:04:06,120 Speaker 1: you relatively limit your caffeine intake, drink enough water, get 73 00:04:06,240 --> 00:04:09,400 Speaker 1: enough calcium, and don't add shovelfuls of sugar to your java. 74 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:12,720 Speaker 1: The health benefits of coffee may far outweigh it's negatives. 75 00:04:13,200 --> 00:04:15,880 Speaker 1: Far from being the devil's drink, as coffee was once 76 00:04:15,880 --> 00:04:18,960 Speaker 1: called by Christians in the fifteen hundreds, study upon study 77 00:04:19,000 --> 00:04:23,000 Speaker 1: has proven that coffee can have health benefits. At one time, 78 00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: coffee was thought to have negative cardiovascular effects, including heart 79 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,080 Speaker 1: attack and abnormal heart rhythms, although it does cause minor 80 00:04:30,160 --> 00:04:33,480 Speaker 1: and temporary increases in blood pressure. According to an Iowa 81 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,320 Speaker 1: women's health study that tract twenty seven thousand women for 82 00:04:36,360 --> 00:04:39,599 Speaker 1: fifteen years, those who consumed one to three daily cups 83 00:04:39,600 --> 00:04:44,760 Speaker 1: of coffee reduced their overall risk of cardiovascular disease by 84 00:04:45,279 --> 00:04:47,359 Speaker 1: It was also once thought that coffee could be a 85 00:04:47,440 --> 00:04:53,440 Speaker 1: major contributing factor in pancreatic cancer due to a Harvard study. However, 86 00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: coffee's role as carston gen has since been disproven, and 87 00:04:57,080 --> 00:04:59,359 Speaker 1: current research has shown that it can help ward off 88 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,839 Speaker 1: breast in uterine cancer in women but white. There's more. 89 00:05:03,360 --> 00:05:05,760 Speaker 1: A study of over a hundred and twenty five thousand 90 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 1: members of the Kaiser Permanente Health Plan showed that heavy 91 00:05:08,880 --> 00:05:13,000 Speaker 1: alcohol drinkers cut their risk of cirrhosis by per cup 92 00:05:13,040 --> 00:05:16,760 Speaker 1: of coffee per day, and even among non tipplers, coffee 93 00:05:16,760 --> 00:05:20,240 Speaker 1: has been shown to slash liver cancer risk, and two 94 00:05:20,240 --> 00:05:22,880 Speaker 1: global studies have shown that coffee reduces the risk of 95 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:27,880 Speaker 1: type two diabetes, sometimes up to even better. Those beneficial 96 00:05:27,920 --> 00:05:31,080 Speaker 1: effects are related to chlorogenic acid, which is found both 97 00:05:31,120 --> 00:05:36,160 Speaker 1: in decalf and regular brews. However, excess consumption of anything, 98 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: including caffeine, is never a good idea. The magic number 99 00:05:40,040 --> 00:05:42,920 Speaker 1: four coffees benefits seems to be between one and four 100 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:46,279 Speaker 1: cups a day. So while the old wives tale about 101 00:05:46,279 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: coffee stunting your growth isn't really true, another piece of 102 00:05:49,400 --> 00:06:00,080 Speaker 1: traditional wisdom certainly is all things in moderation today. This 103 00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:02,920 Speaker 1: episode is based on the article will drinking coffee really 104 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,440 Speaker 1: Stunt Your Growth? On how stuff works dot com written 105 00:06:05,440 --> 00:06:08,160 Speaker 1: by Michael Franco. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart 106 00:06:08,200 --> 00:06:10,320 Speaker 1: Radio in partnership with how stuff Works dot Com, and 107 00:06:10,360 --> 00:06:13,919 Speaker 1: it's produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts my heart Radio, 108 00:06:14,120 --> 00:06:16,920 Speaker 1: visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 109 00:06:16,960 --> 00:06:18,360 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.