Coffee? Yes, please!

I am writing from Scandinavia where coffee consumption is the highest in the world: Four-plus cups a day compared to U.S.’s measly 1.5 cups (although undoubtedly higher in Portland and Seattle, #2 and #1, respectively, for the most java consumed per capita in our country). Let’s just say I am doing my part to maintain the Scandinavian average by enthusiastically partaking in the national pastime of Sweden, the fika, or coffee-and-bun break.

This activity can be enjoyed many – too many — times a day. Yesterday, I fika-ed at 10, 2:15 and 4:30, resisting the kanelbulle, the cardamom/ cinnamon buns that are the bun part of “coffee-and-bun break,” two out of three times. So not bad. But, with my coffee consumption suddenly way up, I became particularly interested in finding good news about coffee and health. I am happy to report that I found it.

It’s important to note that coffee has had a bad rap for a long time. When I was a kid, the word was that drinking coffee would stunt your growth. Then news came from scientific studies that coffee drinking was associated with heart disease, cancer and shorter life spans. It turns out that those dire stats were an artifact of the coffee-drinking lifestyle not coffee itself. Coffee drinkers – at least when these studies were being conducted years ago – tended to smoke more cigarettes, exercise less often and eat a less healthy diet than non-coffee drinkers. The early studies didn’t separate the beverage from the lifestyle.

Today, the news is much different. And far better. As Frank Hu, MD, MPH, PhD, nutrition and epidemiology professor at the Harvard School of Public Health, says, “There is certainly much more good news than bad news, in terms of coffee and health.”

First, the lack of bad news: Drinking up to six cups a day of coffee is not associated with increased risk of death from any cause, or death from cancer or cardiovascular disease.

Now, the actual good news: It may be that coffee drinkers have a somewhat lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease than those who rarely drink coffee, according to the latest research. Other research suggests that coffee consumption may protect against type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, liver cancer and liver cirrhosis. For women, coffee may mean a lower risk of stroke.

Coffee also appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression. It has been linked to lower risk of dementia, including Alzheimer’s disease. A 2009 study from Finland and Sweden showed that, out of 1,400 people followed for about 20 years, those who reported drinking 3-5 cups of coffee daily were 65% less likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, compared with nondrinkers or occasional coffee drinkers.

Okay then. Time for another fika. Now if only I could find good health news about pastry consumption.