Edible Insights:
Making healthy choices about coffee, caffeine

Let’s talk about coffee. Or caffeine, or both. With one in two Americans drinking coffee on a regular basis plus the proliferation of energy drinks finding their way into the hands of teens and young adults, caffeine is being consumed at an all time high. With these kind of statistics, the caffeine questions come pouring in. How can caffeine affect weight loss and energy gain? Do caffeinated drinks really help you lose weight? How many cups of coffee are okay?

A cup of Joe

Let’s start with coffee. First, there’s the coffee bean, which has been around since 850 A.D. after an Ethiopian goat herder’s goats became friskier from eating the coffee bean fruit. In 1773, The Boston Tea Party made coffee drinking a patriotic duty. And today Americans consume over 400 million cups of coffee per day, making the U.S. the leading consumer of coffee in the world. At present, there are approximately 15,000 coffeehouses across the country, but predictions estimate more than 50,000 by the year 2010.

In the midst of this national obsession are several studies that indicate coffee has some health merits. Many of those studies have been done on women, touting a reduction in the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, especially in postmenopausal women (particularly decaffeinated coffee). One study in Finland linked consumption of three to six cups of coffee per day with a 25 percent lower risk of diabetes in men and women. So something good seems to be going on with coffee — especially as it relates to diabetes.

But here’s the other side of the story: while drinking coffee may lower the risk of diabetes, it also appears to raise cholesterol levels. In addition, coffee increases homocysteine, an amino acid which, when elevated in the blood, becomes toxic and can cause a stroke or premature artery disease. A study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition demonstrated that avoiding coffee actually lowers homocysteine. And that’s not all: beyond heart disease, coffee consumption has also been associated with a number of other health concerns, including anxiety, anemia, migraine headaches, reflux, osteoporosis and premenstrual syndrome.

The drug of choice —caffeine

It is estimated that Americans consume 45 million pounds of caffeine annually, with an average daily intake of 200 mgs daily. Seventy-five percent of our intake of caffeine is in the form of coffee, but caffeine is also a constituent of tea, chocolate, some medications, cola, energy and weight loss drinks. Modern coffee harvesting and roasting practices tend to discard most of the antioxidants found in the coffee bean, leaving us with largely caffeine. Besides being robbed of the antioxidant benefits, which remains if it’s freshly brewed, what’s left is highly addictive.

Caffeine is addictive because it uses the same mechanisms that amphetamines, cocaine and heroin use to stimulate the brain. When you’re addicted, caffeine causes the body to release stress hormones like adrenaline, which make you feel alert. But once the adrenaline wears off, fatigue and depression follow. A natural impulse is to regain the same ‘‘high” by taking in more caffeine. This only leads to more adrenaline release into your system. The end result: your body is in either a state of stress or fatigue all day long. At the end of the day, because caffeine stays in your system long after it’s consumed, a deep sleep doesn’t occur. The next day the cycle begins anew, as you get out of bed sleep deprived and fatigued. The impulse is to reach for more caffeine.

Too much caffeine on a regular basis — roughly more than 3 cups per day — can lead to many different physical and mental conditions, including nervousness, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, headaches and heart palpitations. Because caffeine increases the production of stomach acid, overuse can lead to ulcers, erosive esophagitis and reflux disease (although decaffeinated coffee also increases stomach acid and can also lead to ulcers). Now here’s the tricky part: coffee may reduce insulin resistance, but caffeine has been shown to increase insulin resistance by 33-37 percent, thereby increasing the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Caffeine and weight loss

Because caffeine is a stimulant, most people think that it will increase metabolism and help shed excess weight. Studies that prove this point have been short-term studies, with the exception of a 12-year report done by the Harvard School of Public Health. This study found that both men and women who increased their caffeine intake during the study period gained less weight than those who cut back on caffeine , but the difference was only about one pound. So does it really contribute to weight loss? Keep in mind that specialty coffee drinks like flavored lattes — which have attracted over 30 million fans — pack on an average of 200 more calories per day. So keep the lattes to a minimum if you are trying to manage weight.

Enviga is a new product in a joint venture by the Coca-Cola Company and Nestle which claims to be a ‘‘calorie burner”, but only if you drink 3 cans per day, which equates to 300mg of caffeine. They tout green tea extract, or EGCG, as the magic ingredient that will enhance the effect of the caffeine and cite short-term studies. Whether or not it works remains to be seen, but skeptics are enouncing the product’s claims, including the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Energy drinks

The energy drink craze continues to gain momentum. In 2006, 500 new energy drinks launched worldwide, targeting teens and young adults. Approximately 8 million U.S. teens are drinking energy beverages, up by 3 million in just three years. Drinks like Red Bull contain high sugar, caffeine and herbs that jolt up the energy level. The energy drink craze has the potential to usher in a whole generation of caffeine-addicted youths, who will rely on stimulants for energy instead of finding their own natural resources.

I’m not foolish enough to think that I will be able to stop anyone from those five morning cups of java, but at least now you know a bit more about the benefits and the risks. If, however, you decide to reduce your dependence on coffee – especially caffeine – try taking an exercise break instead of a coffee break to increase alertness. It’s one way to improve your mood and refresh your ability to think. More energy and a good night’s sleep will be right around the corner.