QuickCheck: Is drinking coffee in the morning bad for you?

MANY people start their day with a hot cup of coffee but may not realise that it is doing more harm than good. Is this true?

Verdict:

PARTIALLY TRUE

There have been many studies over the years that show that drinking coffee provides numerous health benefits.

A meta-analysis done in 2018 of 127 studies suggests that coffee:

- reduces your risk of cancer by up to 20%;

- reduces your risk of heart disease by 5%;

- reduces your risk of Type 2 diabetes by 30%; and reduces your risk of Parkinson's disease by 30%.

Coffee does all these wonderful things by flooding your body with antioxidants that help repair your DNA.

It also calms stress-related inflammation and improves the efficiency of the enzymes that regulate insulin and glucose.

However, as with all things, there are caveats and in the case of coffee, the caveat is when you drink your first cuppa.

When you first wake up, your adrenal glands flood your body with cortisol.

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It is widely known as a potent stress hormone due to the role it plays in your body's fight or flight response.

However, cortisol also regulates your metabolism, immune system response, blood pressure and your sleep wake cycle.

Cortisol spikes in your body within 30 to 45 minutes after rising, before slowly declining throughout the rest of the day.

Drinking coffee when your body is at peak cortisol production actually weakens caffeine's stimulatory effect.

Not only that, it also builds up your body's long-term tolerance to caffeine, meaning you would eventually need to drink more coffee to get the same effect.

Drinking coffee when your cortisol level is at its peak may further increase levels of this hormone.

Elevated levels of cortisol over long periods can impair your immune system, causing health problems.

However, there have yet to be any studies conducted on the health implications of elevated cortisol from drinking coffee.

That said, it has been suggested that the best time to drink coffee is mid- to late-morning when your cortisol level is lower.

For most people, who get up around 6.30am, this time is between 9.30am and 11.30am.

References:

1. https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/health/2022/04/12/coffee039s-effects-on-blood-pressure-and-blood-sugar

2. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4868668/

3. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3486742/