Gaby
Many people around the world start their day with a cup of coffee. Coffee lovers often bristle when someone criticizes their morning cup, hunting for its flaws.
Modern science increasingly recognizes coffee as beneficial, and old stereotypes about its harms are fading. Recently, researchers debunked four common coffee myths.
Dark Roasting Doesn’t Make Coffee Stronger
Dark roasting is the process of heating coffee beans at high temperatures for a longer time, producing a bitter flavor and a dark brown color. Many believe that coffee roasted this way is stronger and contains more caffeine. But that’s not true.
The difference between dark and light roasts is simply how long the beans are roasted. In 2017, researchers from Thomas Jefferson University (USA) compared the caffeine concentration in coffee brewed from equal weights of medium and dark roasted Arabica beans sourced from the same region. Surprisingly, the team found a higher caffeine concentration in the medium-roast samples, not the dark roast.
Coffee Doesn’t Hinder Children’s Growth
There’s a common belief that children shouldn’t drink coffee or any caffeinated beverages because it stunts their growth. This claim has no scientific basis, according to Popular Science.
No study has linked coffee consumption to stunted growth. Dr. Roy Kim, a physician, wrote in a Cleveland Clinic blog that “caffeine does not affect growth.” He added that it’s even unclear where this idea originated. Dr. Kim also mentioned that caffeine can suppress appetite, which can help people who struggle with excess weight.
However, Dr. Kim warns that coffee can negatively affect children. It can sometimes cause sleep and attention problems, palpitations, anxiety, and stomach upset. Children may also become more irritable after drinking coffee.
Coffee Doesn’t Dehydrate the Body
Some people think coffee dehydrates the body. That belief likely stems from caffeine’s mild diuretic effect, so people assume it makes the body lose water.
A 2014 study from the University of Birmingham, published in PLOS One, looked at 50 adult men and tracked their physical activity, diet, and fluid intake. In one test, each volunteer drank four 200-milliliter cups of coffee; in another, they drank the same amount of water. The researchers found no significant difference between the hydrating properties of coffee and water.
Coffee Doesn’t Cause Heart Disease
Another common myth is that coffee causes heart disease. That probably comes from coffee’s tendency to speed up the heart rate. But studies don’t link coffee to heart disease — some suggest the opposite.
A 2022 study published in a journal of the European Society of Cardiology found that two to three cups of coffee a day may even improve heart health. To reach this conclusion, the research team examined how coffee consumption affected the health of more than 500,000 people in Britain. The scientists concluded that this daily coffee intake was associated with “a significant reduction in the incidence of cardiovascular diseases and mortality.”
Still, check with your family doctor about how much coffee is right for you; your doctor knows your health history and can advise what to enjoy and what to avoid.
