deliciousmagazine.co.uk 113
yourhealth.
Coffeehasprovenhealthbenefits
TTRUETFALSE
Coffeeisgenerallyconsideredsafe
formostpeopleTTRUETFALSE
Pregnantwomenandchildrenare
advisedtodrinkas much astheylike
TTRUE TFALSE
Robuststudiesshowdrinkingcoffee
doesnotincreasetheriskofheart
attackandstrokeTTRUETFALSE
Coffeedehydrates the body
TTRUET FALSE
TRUE OR FALSE?
drinksoithaslesseffectonyour
sleep,”DrBainsays. And because
caffeineis excretedinbreastmilk,
breastfeedingmothersmight want
tomoderatetheirconsumption.
Caffeinecancauseanxietyand
heartpalpitations,sopeoplewith
heartconditionsareadvisedto
moderatetheirintake,andit can
alsotriggersymptomsofirritable
bowelsyndrome(IBS). There’s
evidencethatcaffeinecancause
sleepproblems,headaches,anxiety,
fastheartbeatandgastrointestinal
problemsinchildren.That’swhy
theFoodSafetyAuthority(FSA)
recommendslimiting childrento
3mgcaffeineperdayperkgof
bodyweight. Fora 30kg 10-year-old,
this means 90mg – the amount ina
cupoffiltercoffeeortwocupsoftea.
Excessivecoffeeconsumption
hasbeenlinked to stuntedfoetus
development,sothe FSAsuggests
pregnantwomendon’thavemore
than200mgcaffeineperdayfrom
allsources–that’salittleovertwo
200mlcupsoffiltercoffeeperday.
Foralongtime,the received
wisdomwasthatcoffeeis
dehydrating, butresearchsuggests
otherwise,says DrBain.“Asmall
studyfromthe Universityof
BirminghamSchoolofSportand
ExerciseSciencessuggested that
moderatecoffeeconsumptionis
ashydratingasdrinking water.”
THEBOTTOMLINE
Doctorsandscientistsagreethat
drinkingonetofivecupsofcoffee
a dayis safeformostpeople– but
moreresearchis neededtoprove
anyactualhealthbenefits.Coffee
can haveunpleasant side effects
forsomepeople,andpregnant
womenandchildrenareadvised
tolimittheir intake.
Themostserious
claimsagainstcooffffee
havebeendebunkedby
scientific research