A Physicians’s Case for Coffee and Heart Health
As a Nocturnist (a physician treating hospital patients at night), I use coffee as a means to remain awake and combat fatigue. Even with enough daytime sleep, the natural desire of the body to sleep at night interferes with attention and vigilance. Of all the safe ways to combat it, coffee is probably the most effective.

Also, I have to confess that I simply like drinking coffee: the taste of it, the joy of taking a “coffee break” with co-workers, the mental clarity it brings. I have no desire — nor do I see the need — to stop drinking this beverage that I use for both professional and recreational purposes — unless I see scientific proof of possible harm.

Since coronary heart disease is the most common cause of disability and death in men of my age, I wanted to find out if my coffee habit puts me at risk for a heart attack.

Coffee has been a friend of the medical profession from before things like night-work was invented. During the mid-17th century, it was known to prevent “dropsy, gout, and scurvy” in Europe until more effective treatment options emerged.

In 1991, it made headlines again — for less noble reasons. In smoke-filled hospital break-rooms, rumors started that coffee caused bladder cancer, and before you could say, “show me the evidence,” the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer [IARC] gave coffee a classification of “possibly carcinogenic.” Efforts to substantiate this were surprisingly difficult with no concrete scientific evidence of a correlation.

Over the next decade, researchers pouring over statistical calculations and empty teacups discovered that drinking coffee caused a reduction in certain malignancies including colon and skin cancer. The IARC eventually spilled the beans, and in 1996, the trial ended in a “not classifiable as to carcinogenicity” verdict.

With the cancer issue resolved, research on selected groups of people, like this 1986 study done on medical students, erroneously suggested a risk for heart disease in coffee drinkers. This was probably because other risk factors like smoking and stress were underappreciated.

Subsequent well-designed studies with large numbers of subjects provided proof beyond doubt that the health-related properties of coffee are positive with many favorable effects, and can be summarized as follows.

This article is no substitute for medical advice. Please discuss any health-related issues with your medical care provider before making any changes.
['Stephan Serfontein']
['Health', 'Food', 'Lifestyle', 'Coffee', 'Heart']