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American Morning

Paging Dr. Gupta: No Coffee Pancreatic Cancer Link Found

Aired November 17, 2003 - 08:46   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Medical news now. If you love your coffee in the morning, and many of us do, but if you're concerned the caffeine contains a bit of a health risk, new medical studies might perk you up as to that morning cup of Joe.
And Sanjay's here to talk about that this morning from the CNN Center.

Dr. Gupta, good morning to you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, William. And you're a coffee drinker.

HEMMER: That I am, as a matter of fact. William and Bill is a coffee drinker.

GUPTA: You call me Dr. Gupta, I call you William.

The -- you're not alone, you know. It's the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world, coffee is. That's no big surprise. But there's been a long sort of medical lore about exactly what are some of the potential ill effects. And one of those revolves around blood pressure. For quite some time, it was considered that caffeine would elevate your blood pressure long-term, causing hypertension.

So they decided to do this study, a very long-term study, over 33 years involving 1,000 folks, 33 years worth of coffee drinking. And this is what they found, while there were small increases in blood pressure at the time, there was little effect on hypertension in the long run, meaning that people who drink coffee on a daily basis might have slight increases in their blood pressure at the time they drink the coffee, but as far as hypertension overall, not as big a problem. That was looking at 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine a day -- Bill.

HEMMER: Also in the study, we've heard for years about this connection between caffeine and cancer. Is there more to that now that might lend credence to it or take away from it?

GUPTA: Yes, I think probably take away from it. That was actually -- back in 1981, there was this landmark study published that actually looked at the role caffeine and pancreatic cancer. They actually concluded at that time that there was a role, that caffeine actually may account for some increases in pancreatic cancer. That has all been debunked now at this point, no role, no increase between caffeine causing pancreatic cancer. They also looked at breast cancer. A lot of people out there concerned about the role of caffeine in coffee or tea, and the possible role in increasing breast cancer. Also, not a relationship that they're able to conclusively prove there.

What they have probably shown, Bill, is that caffeine may have a role in what they call advocating cancer cells, meaning that if you already have cancer, there's a possibility, looking at some long-term studies, that caffeine may actually stimulate those cells to go a little bit more than they otherwise would have. But as far as causing cancer, those studies just not panning out, Bill.

HEMMER: What does this mean in sum total here? You giving everybody the green light to go ahead and toss back that cup after cup after cup?

GUPTA: Well, I think, you know, moderation is the measure of the man. And this is -- there's no exception here, either. You know, it's interesting, I think people is talk about 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. Most people at home probably don't know what that means. Take a look at the list here. I know you frequent the various coffee houses around town. Starbucks Coffee, 16 ounces, that's the Grande, I believe, 550 milligrams. So that's already almost twice as much as you need. Starbucks Coffee, just the regular coffee, the short, 250 milligrams, the latte, 35, instant coffee, if you're drinking a couple of cups of that a day, 95 milligrams each. That's probably going to be OK. But moderation still, obviously, going to be the important thing here, Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired November 17, 2003 - 08:46   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: Medical news now. If you love your coffee in the morning, and many of us do, but if you're concerned the caffeine contains a bit of a health risk, new medical studies might perk you up as to that morning cup of Joe.
And Sanjay's here to talk about that this morning from the CNN Center.

Dr. Gupta, good morning to you.

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, William. And you're a coffee drinker.

HEMMER: That I am, as a matter of fact. William and Bill is a coffee drinker.

GUPTA: You call me Dr. Gupta, I call you William.

The -- you're not alone, you know. It's the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world, coffee is. That's no big surprise. But there's been a long sort of medical lore about exactly what are some of the potential ill effects. And one of those revolves around blood pressure. For quite some time, it was considered that caffeine would elevate your blood pressure long-term, causing hypertension.

So they decided to do this study, a very long-term study, over 33 years involving 1,000 folks, 33 years worth of coffee drinking. And this is what they found, while there were small increases in blood pressure at the time, there was little effect on hypertension in the long run, meaning that people who drink coffee on a daily basis might have slight increases in their blood pressure at the time they drink the coffee, but as far as hypertension overall, not as big a problem. That was looking at 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine a day -- Bill.

HEMMER: Also in the study, we've heard for years about this connection between caffeine and cancer. Is there more to that now that might lend credence to it or take away from it?

GUPTA: Yes, I think probably take away from it. That was actually -- back in 1981, there was this landmark study published that actually looked at the role caffeine and pancreatic cancer. They actually concluded at that time that there was a role, that caffeine actually may account for some increases in pancreatic cancer. That has all been debunked now at this point, no role, no increase between caffeine causing pancreatic cancer. They also looked at breast cancer. A lot of people out there concerned about the role of caffeine in coffee or tea, and the possible role in increasing breast cancer. Also, not a relationship that they're able to conclusively prove there.

What they have probably shown, Bill, is that caffeine may have a role in what they call advocating cancer cells, meaning that if you already have cancer, there's a possibility, looking at some long-term studies, that caffeine may actually stimulate those cells to go a little bit more than they otherwise would have. But as far as causing cancer, those studies just not panning out, Bill.

HEMMER: What does this mean in sum total here? You giving everybody the green light to go ahead and toss back that cup after cup after cup?

GUPTA: Well, I think, you know, moderation is the measure of the man. And this is -- there's no exception here, either. You know, it's interesting, I think people is talk about 100 to 200 milligrams of caffeine. Most people at home probably don't know what that means. Take a look at the list here. I know you frequent the various coffee houses around town. Starbucks Coffee, 16 ounces, that's the Grande, I believe, 550 milligrams. So that's already almost twice as much as you need. Starbucks Coffee, just the regular coffee, the short, 250 milligrams, the latte, 35, instant coffee, if you're drinking a couple of cups of that a day, 95 milligrams each. That's probably going to be OK. But moderation still, obviously, going to be the important thing here, Bill.

HEMMER: Thank you, Sanjay.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com