Latte or a health food drink?

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Coffee has been falsely accused of causing a host of health problems. Experts have said coffee will lead to dehydration; and while caffeine is a mild diuretic – it makes you pee – that increased urination is more than made up for by the water taken in with each cup of Java.

They have said coffee will cause heart attacks and strokes, only for studies to show no such link.

Some experts have even falsely claimed that coffee will stunt your growth. Fear not, future NBA/WNBA stars, your dream will not be dashed by a daily latte.

However, one potential risk of coffee has more plausibly concerned experts for quite a while. It is the belief that coffee can cause your heart to race too fast, through abnormal rhythms such as atrial fibrillation.

According to recent research, it looks like even that concern has been greatly exaggerated.

In November, a research team published a randomized trial of coffee consumption in people with a history of atrial fibrillation. In atrial fibrillation, the heart’s natural pacemaker starts sending too many electrical signals to the rest of the heart, telling it to contract. If enough of these abnormal signals make it to the big muscles of your heart, in your ventricles, your pulse could quicken to dangerous speeds.

In the trial, 200 patients with atrial fibrillation had their natural pacemaker zapped (the technical term is ablated) so it would send off fewer of these abnormal signals. The researchers knew that such zappings are not always a cure, however. That’s why doctors typically tell patients after they undergo the zapping to abstain from coffee. Forever.

The horror!

The research team wondered what effect coffee would have on people’s risk of recurrent atrial fibrillation. The study result was even better than I hoped for: one cup of coffee a day not only failed to increase abnormal heart rates, it actually reduced the risk of atrial fibrillation.

Experts aren’t quite sure why coffee protects people from recurrent fibrillation. One possibility is that coffee, which is rich in antioxidant chemicals, reduces inflammation that otherwise would promote abnormal heart rates. Drinking a cup of Joe might also reduce consumption of less healthy foods and beverages; maybe those other foods would have caused more heart problems.

In fact, another recent study suggest that people who drink caffeinated coffee and tea are less likely to develop dementia. The mechanisms are unknown, but might involve “adenosine A1 and A2A receptors,” which I’m sure surprises none of you.

Whatever the case, chalk up another couple victories for coffee. Drinking caffeinated coffee is not only a safe way for you to start the day, it will probably improve your health.