The State of California says coffee can cause cancer. So are there claims true or it’s just a hoax?
A lot of coffee articles says that coffee is good for the health and it’s a beverage that help prevents a lot of diseases like Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, including liver cancer. Coffee also appears to improve cognitive function and decrease the risk of depression.
However, a news is circulating recently saying that coffee causes cancer. Wait!What? really? Yeah, that is why when this news came out to the public it puts California at an alarming level requiring some of the biggest chains like Starbucks to warn its customers that coffee causes cancer.
Well, 7eleven, have already settled and agreed to post warnings in their stores. The lawsuits in warning the public about the danger of coffee were filed in 2010 by a group called the Council for Education and Research on Toxics is in its final stages, and the judge might rule soon unless the plaintiffs settle the case.
The basis of this lawsuit is that brewing hot coffee produces acrylamide – is a chemical that can form in some foods during high-temperature cooking processes, such as frying, roasting, and baking. Acrylamide in food forms from sugars and an amino acid that are naturally present in food; it does not come from food packaging or the environment.– which is on a list of substances that California claims cause cancer or reproductive toxicity.
Acrylamide is already present in our food and forms during a high-temperature cooking process, but it wasn’t until 2002 that Swedish scientists discovered that acrylamide is present in many foods.
As the American Cancer Society explains,
Acrylamide is found mainly in plant foods, such as potato products, grain products, or coffee. Foods such as French fries and potato chips seem to have the highest levels of acrylamide.
Oh no! If this is the case seems like we need to stay away from the joys of life now, form french fries and potato chips.
How is coffee connected to Acrylamide?
Well, as the definition above acrylamide is formed during a high-temperature process, so in connection to coffee acrylamide forms during the roasting process. During roasting, it needs a high temperature to achieve the right roasting. But it turns out that the evidence against acrylamide is pretty sketchy. Though it was proven that acrylamide causes cancer in animals and it was was still vague if it can also cause cancer to people. The ACS concludes that “it’s not yet clear if acrylamide affects cancer risk in people.”
It’s just as easy to find claims that coffee prevents cancer. A 2017 review found that one cup of coffee a day is associated with a slight reduction in the risk of liver cancer and endometrial cancer. A 2010 review of over 500 studies found the same reductions, but a slight increase in the risk of bladder cancer among heavy coffee drinkers. Another large review in 2017, by Robin Poole and colleagues in the UK, found not only a reduced risk of cancer but a reduction in heart disease and overall mortality.
The Poole study concluded:
Coffee consumption seems generally safe within usual levels of intake, with [the] largest risk reduction for various health outcomes at three to four cups a day, and more likely to benefit health than harm.
Does this mean it safe to drink coffee? Well yes, it’s very safe my coffee drinks. So don’t worry too much about coffee causing cancer, as long as you are drinking in a moderate way then there is nothing to worry about, and you can still enjoy and savor yourself with the gasoline of life.
About the report of the lawsuit in California, we say they are just too exaggerated with the situation, as the nonprofit American Council on Science and Health say “If coffee is deemed carcinogenic, then the State of California will be required to give up all pretense at common sense and sanity.” If you are living in California are you willing to give up your cup of Joe? We, bet you are not!
Let’s just hope that the judge in California will see the bright science in this case. So the answer to the question above is that the theories are still not proven that coffee can cause cancer. So let’s enjoy our cups of coffee, but we should drink it moderately.
Source: Forbes
