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Studies Show Coffee Good for You

Aired August 27, 2002 - 14:41   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Earlier, we told you about a study that shows caffeine reduces the risk of skin cancer in mice. Every week, it seems there are new findings about whether that morning cup of joe is good for you or not. So do you drink it, or do you opt for decaf?
Let's bring in our medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen to sort it all out.

Elizabeth, there are so many myths about this. How do we know what is reality and what isn't?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You know what? It is hard to know and you have to do some research. But I'll tell you there are some basic things about coffee that we can say, and it's basically that coffee is really OK for you. A lot of things that you hear -- it might cause this, it might cause that -- really turn out not to be true.

And in fact, there is a study that just came out this week. They took these little tiny hairless mice. They basically bathed them in a solution that contains caffeine, and they found that when they exposed them to ultraviolet light, the mice that had been bathed in the caffeine didn't get tumors as much. So there's another use for caffeine possibly.

It will be years before they know if this is true in people. Often things that turn out well in mice not turn out well in people.

But Kyra, I think we have a quiz that will talk about some of these myths and facts about coffee. And I think you are going to do the quiz with me.

PHILLIPS: That's right, because you and I talked about this a couple weeks ago, remember? And we were sitting there talking about all these myths about of coffee and if it's good for you or not. So we gathered a couple things, and you did your research. So here we go.

The first question: Caffeine -- is it addictive and should you get yourself off it as soon as possible?

COHEN: This is a true and a false. As to the statement is caffeine addictive and you should get off of it as soon as possible. That, Kyra, is false. Now, there is some controversy over whether or not caffeine is actually addictive, but I think it's safe to say that people usually feel like they are hooked on caffeine, but you do not need to get yourself off of it as soon as possible. It doesn't seem to increase the risk for cancer, for high blood pressure, for all sorts of things that people were nervous about.

There are two caveats here. One, if you are a pregnant woman, you probably shouldn't be drinking too much caffeine; there is increased risk of miscarriages. Most obstetricians say a cup or two a day is fine. Secondly, if you are drinking caffeine and it is making you feel jittery and shaky and nervous and uptight, then you need to come off of it. The trick is do it slowly; if you do it too fast, your body is going to react badly -- you will get terrible headaches.

PHILLIPS: So it's not going to give you a heart attack.

COHEN: No.

PHILLIPS: OK.

COHEN: No.

PHILLIPS: Second question. This is the one that made me a little -- actually, I cut it out. Maybe that's my memory problem. Caffeine can help improve your memory?

COHEN: That turns out to be true, at least according to one study, at the University of Arizona. Kyra, what they did is they took elderly people whose memories were good in morning but weren't so good at the end of the day. They gave them some coffee before the end of the day, and viola, their memories were as good at the end of the day as they were at the beginning of the day. So that is what that study shows.

PHILLIPS: All right. The International Olympic Committee tests athletes for caffeine consumption. And that is true. Why?

COHEN: You might wonder after all these things that I'm saying that it's not really so bad. Caffeine is a stimulant and it can improve your exercise performance. So they don't want people using it, just like they don't want them using any other what they would consider a controlled substance. The thing is, though, to test positive, you have to basically have taken supplements with caffeine. If you have just been drinking a normal amount, a couple cups, you are not going to test positive in this particular test. You have to be taking supplements. So drinking a little bit is OK; supplements not OK, according to the IOC.

PHILLIPS: So a shot of espresso before I hit the treadmill is actually a good thing?

COHEN: Well, they have found that it does increase exercise performance for some people. It's a stimulant. There's a reason that people fell like they're more energetic.

PHILLIPS: All right, does caffeine make you dehydrated?

COHEN: This to me was the most surprising one. The answer here, that is false. Caffeine does not dehydrate you. We have all heard that. It turns out that it is something of an urban myth. What they did is they gave people caffeinated beverages and gave them other kinds of beverages, and caffeinated beverages did not dehydrate them when taken in normal levels. When they gave people tons and tons of these, then could it dehydrate them. Of course, if you're going for a hike in 100 degree weather, you don't want to be drinking just caffeinated beverages; you want to mix it up. But it is not actually going to dehydrate you if you are just drinking a couple of caffeinated beverages.

PHILLIPS: Elizabeth Cohen, I guess I might have to start coffee again.

COHEN: Kyra, if it has made you feel better, if you feel better, then should you stay off of it. You are just one of those people who maybe shouldn't be drinking caffeine.

PHILLIPS: Lots of water.

Elizabeth, thanks so much.

COHEN: Thanks, Kyra.

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