When I started searching this topic, I couldn't stop wondering how much craziness is written about coffee on the internet. And because this week some dishonest charlatans were spreading myths about coffee again, I decided to elaborate this topic and the most common claims about the alleged harmfulness of coffee for you!
❌ "Drink your favourite coffee without milk or cream! It has a very bad effect on the duodenum, which then contracts its smooth muscles in a spasm and subsequently begins to disable the pancreas. It also blocks the entire gall bladder."
✅ According to current scientific knowledge, none of this is true and, on the contrary, coffee even seems to support the gallbladder and the entire small intestine. Of course, coffee with milk or cream can only cause problems in people who have problems with milk itself (lactose intolerance, cow's milk protein allergy, etc.). People who suffer from frequent heartburn (gastroesophageal reflux disease) should also be careful, as coffee increases the secretion of hydrochloric acid in the stomach and can worsen the symptoms.
❌ "In addition, coffee contains large amounts of very aggressive oxalic acid. And when the kidneys are not able to excrete this substance fast enough through the urine, then the oxalic acid crystals present easily form into urinary sand. But later, huge, highly painful and also risky urinary stones also form."
✅ Sorbates or oxalates can indeed cause urinary stones under certain conditions, but in the case of coffee (roasted coffee at that) their consumption is actually minimal and scientific studies show a protective effect of both coffee and milk against the formation of urinary stones.
❌ "The moulds that grow on the coffee beans or, on the other hand, the pesticides used to treat them, which, thanks to the high-temperature extraction method, enter the beverage and subsequently have a neurotoxic effect in the brain. Mould was the reason I didn't drink coffee for many years. It wasn't good for me. In fact, after about a 20-minute energy boost, I developed brain fog, cognitive impairment and an inability to concentrate."
✅ Thanks to a complex, multi-step coffee processing process, the pesticide content of the final product is reduced well below the safe limit. This is because coffee is not consumed raw like fruit, but throughout the process the beans are soaked, fermented, dried and finally roasted at temperatures in excess of 200°C, which destroys up to 99.8% of all pesticides. This complex process therefore reduces pesticides, and possibly fungicides, to almost zero concentrations. In fact, coffee is one of the few beverages that contains no additives such as preservatives or other food additives!
One of the other scarecrows of coffee drinking is the mould and the so-called mycotoxins they produce. Indeed, these toxins can be found in coffee, especially aflatoxin and ochratoxin, which are carcinogens. However, even in this case, it is the quantity that matters - recall the famous statement by Paracelsus: 'sola dosis facit venenum' (only the dosage makes the poison)! In fact, the mycotoxin and possibly fungal content of coffee is very low and meets safe limits for consumption. Moreover, even this content is reduced by an average of 42-96 % due to the roasting method used and, according to studies, the average intake of ochratoxin is only about 3 % of the maximum safe dose. Scientists have even found that the moulds that coffee beans naturally contain give the final product its characteristic properties - that is, it is the natural moulds that give coffee its typical regional taste and aroma.
So, while coffee may have some risks, the benefits are still hugely outweighed. Therefore, don't be scared off by the alarming messages and hoaxes circulating about one of the world's most popular drinks, and enjoy your favourite cup of coffee in peace. According to many scientific studies, coffee prolongs life (or reduces the risk of premature death), protects us from heart disease, Parkinson's disease and even some types of cancer.
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