Good For You? Bad For You? Dr. Holly Phillips Addresses Myth And Reality

Nothing like the smell of coffee to start off the day!

With so many studies out there about coffee, it's hard to remember whether our morning cup of Joe does the body any good -- or harm.

On The Early Show Monday, Dr. Holly Phillips of CBS station WCBS-TV in New York went through some commonly-circulated beliefs about the health effects of one of the nation's most popular beverages.

IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOU?

Well, I would have to say, all things in moderation. There do definitely seem to be some health benefits. The more we're learning, research is leaning on the side of it being good for you. It lowers the risk of Parkinson's disease and Type 2 diabetes. It mediates depression. But the benefits are dose-related.

SHOULD CHILDREN BE DRINKING COFFEE?

It's better to limit their caffeine intake. They'll get caffeine in other things -- chocolate, sodas, but particularly in kids, it's linked to attention problems and hyperactivity, so it's better to avoid it.

COFFEE IS DEHYDRATING. TRUE OR FALSE?

It depends on the dose. We think of coffee as a diuretic. But recent studies have shown it's only a diuretic at high doses -- above 575 milligrams. Have some water if you exceed that amount.

HOW MUCH IS THAT?

575 milligrams is a little less than three cups of coffee, but that's three regular size cups. But we have to remember the cups we have nowadays are big cups. So, it's easy to have more than 575 milligrams.

COFFEE INCREASES HYPERTENSION. TRUE OR FALSE?

Coffee does increase your blood pressure, but only for a few minutes. What's interesting is that recent studies show it doesn't increase your likelihood of getting hypertension. I would caution that anyone who has high blood pressure that's not under control should avoid caffeine.

COFFEE HELPS WEIGHT LOSS

Unfortunately, this doesn't work. Caffeine does speed up your metabolism for awhile but, in long-term studies, people who drank coffee had no better weight control than people who didn't.

DOES COFFEE ACCELERATE BONE LOSS?

This one is a little controversial. It doesn't make our body lose more calcium or lose calcium from the bones, but some studies have shown coffee drinkers do have more brittle bones. I suggest all of my patients, especially women, supplement with a calcium supplement or, if you're going to have a great deal of coffee, make sure you put some milk in your coffee.

咖啡有益人体？有损于人体？Holly Phillips博士讨论有关咖啡之谜与事实

没有什么比咖啡的味道开始一天更美好的了!

关于咖啡的研究已经非常之多,很难知道早上一杯咖啡对我们的身体是有益还是有害。

周一的早间秀节目中，纽约WCBS-TV CBS电视台的Holly Phillips博士详细讨论了的有关国内最流行饮料之健康影响的最流行观点。

咖啡对你好吗？

喔，我要说，任何东西都要适量。咖啡确实有一定好处。我们现在获悉更多的是研究在对身体好的这一面。咖啡可降低帕金森综合症和2型糖尿病的危险。它也可减缓忧郁症。不过这种好处都与剂量有关。

小孩可喝咖啡吗？

最好还是控制小孩的咖啡因摄入量。他们还会从其它东西中摄取咖啡因，如巧克力、苏打，但特别对小孩子来说，咖啡因与注意力不集中问题及小儿多动症有关，所以最好还是不要让小孩喝咖啡。

咖啡是脱水的，是不是真的？

这取决于摄入量。我们认为咖啡是利尿剂。但最近的研究表明剂量过大时就不是利尿剂了，这个限度就是575毫克。如果每天摄取量超过这个量，就要多喝水。

这个量是多少？

575毫克就是少于三杯咖啡的量，不过是指三常规杯大小。但我们得知道，现在的杯子都是大杯了。因此，很容易就每天摄入超过575毫克。

咖啡会增加高血压的风险吗？

咖啡确实会使血压升高，但只是几分钟的事情。有趣的是最近的研究表明咖啡并不会增加得高血压的可能。但我还是要提醒大家，有高血压不能得到控制的人还是要避免咖啡因的摄入。

咖啡有助减肥

遗憾，并无此功效。咖啡因确实可以加速新陈代谢一小会，但长期研究的结果表明，喝咖啡的人并不比不喝的人更能控制体重。

咖啡能加速骨骼流失吗？

关于这一点略有争议。咖啡并不会使得我们的身体流失钙或者流失骨钙，但一些研究表明喝咖啡的人确实更容易骨脆。我建议我所有的病人，尤其是妇女，通过钙补充剂补充钙。或者，如果你还会喝很多咖啡，一定要记得在咖啡中加一点牛奶。