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Defense of Coffee

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Submitted By beamergirl
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A Vindication of Caffeine as Not Harmful
The issue of whether people should avoid ingesting caffeine has joined the ranks of other such controversial topics as fast food consumption and sugar intake. While these other substances add caloric increases to a person’s diet, caffeine, in and of itself, does not. Caffeine has been scientifically proven a safe substance; it possesses many health benefits and does not qualify as an addictive substance. Caffeine appears to have been unfairly selected as the next health villain.
What is there about caffeine to villainize? Is it fair to cast a shadow over the substance as being harmful to all simply because there is a minority population whose systems do not tolerate caffeine consumption well? This would be tantamount to saying that gluten is a dangerous substance because there are those with certain disorders, such as celiac disease, who have adverse reactions to its consumption.
According to an article citing the National Library of Medicine (Other questions, 2003), there have been studies done related to caffeine in excess of 19,000 times by various scientific entities. In all of these studies, there has not been enough compelling evidence to convince the Food and Drug Administration to issue anything other than “generally considered as safe” (Other question, 2003, p. 1) in regards to caffeine consumption.
There are some sources, such as Carolyn’s Herbal Information (2003), touting the poisoning effect that caffeine can have on a person in an effort to convince the public that the substance is harmful. One such statement includes “…a dosage equal to that found in 75 cups of coffee placed into the body at one time would kill a person” (Caffeine – A dangerous drug?, 2003, p. 1). There is no scientific study cited for this information, not to mention the unlikelihood of such an event occurring, but the paragraph is written so that readers will infer scientific backing of the statement.
In many of the more than 19,000 studies conducted relating to caffeine, numerous health benefits are linked to its consumption. Such benefits include diabetes prevention in adults and colon cancer protection (Hein, 2006). Some attribute such benefits to the “anti-mutagenic components in … caffeine” (Other questions, 2003, p. 1) which they believe reduce the ability of organisms to transform into harmful substances (Other questions, 2003).
Aside from studies concerning the effects of caffeine on people, there also has been no public outcry to limit the availability of caffeinated beverages, due to caffeine content, to those who might abuse and/or over ingest them. A major controversy has involved removal from schools of highly caloric and sugary beverages, some of which contain caffeine (Hein, 2006). The removal of these beverages is not the result of the potential for those ingesting the beverages to become addicted to caffeine. Removal is the result of wanting to regulate the quantities of sugar and other empty calorie substances being consumed by the nation’s young people.
The concern over addiction to caffeine has no real standing since an addiction, by definition, indicates the inability to cease consumption, the constant need to obtain more of the substance, and the inability to maintain normal social behavior if the substance is not available (Hein, 2006). Most of the population who ingest caffeine is able to abstain from its use without significant issue.
When all of the available data and indications regarding caffeine consumption are taken together and analyzed, the consensus would point towards the idea that caffeine is not a harmful substance. Can it affect some people in an adverse manner? Yes. However, so do many other innocuous substances that are consumed worldwide.
Refusing to recognize the documented health benefits of caffeine itself does not remove the scientific data that indicates it. Nor does it cause caffeine to fit into the same category of addiction as alcohol, cigarettes or drugs. As indicated by research, caffeine in moderation is not one of the villains of our nation’s health.

References
Caffeine – A dangerous drug? (n.d). Retrieved from Carolyn’s Herbal Information http://groups.msn.com/CarolynsHerbInformation/caffeineadangerousdrug.msn.
Hein, K. (2006, May 15). Caffeine the last vice standing. Brandweek, 47(20), 32-36. Retrieved from Computer Source database.
Other questions about coffee and health. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.thecoffeeandteasource.com/site/563240/page/206056

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