Coffee: The Silent Killer

Coffee is many things to many different people. Coffee is how some people wake up in the morning. Coffee is a swear word to others. Personally, I don't like coffee. Drinking it, smelling it, looking at it ... it's just not my thing. For most, a steaming hot cup of coffee is like Heaven to them in the morning. It is for this reason that I write this blog post.

Coffee can kill you. It's an official fact now. Having a few cups of coffee a day is linked to chronic illness and organ failure, not to mention obesity. There is an element in a typical cup of coffee (Chlorogenic Acid) that was associated with health benefits but is now seen as something that builds up fat instead of getting rid of it. This Chlorogenic Acid stuff is now the leading cause of organ failure in coffee drinkers.

Now, this doesn't mean if you have one a day you're going to die. It doesn't even mean if you have seven a day you're going to die (although, that sounds about right). It means that coffee isn't as innocent as it once was. Coffee used to be that brown liquid stuff that you'd pour into a mug and sip slowly as you read the newspaper in the morning. Now it's a mysterious substance that you carry in a take-away cup, sculling it on the way to work or university, drinking another cup at work or university, stirring a third or fourth one at night to stay awake to do your work or assignments, and possibly having a few during the day with friends. It's now a social drink. One of the most common invites nowadays is having a cup of coffee with a friend. This is the real factor behind the dangers of coffee, not the content.


Coffee hasn't changed much. It may have different labels or have been brewed differently or in different places, but not much has changed. You may add milk or sugar, you may have it just with boiling water, but it is still coffee. Cappuccino, latte, and espresso are just other ways of having coffee. Foam, no foam, skim, half and half, grande, tall. They're all labels. Having three lattes in a day versus three espressos just changes the ratios. 1 coffee to 3 milk. 3 coffee to 1 milk. In any case, each is as dangerous as the last.

To those who believe they need coffee to survive, I have prepare a few options you could take to at least decrease your daily intake of coffee.

Option One: Discover why you believe you need coffee.
If you think you need coffee to wake up in the morning, get a good night's sleep and set multiple alarms with annoying ring tones. If you need to, put your alarm system on loud and put it across the room so that you have to get up to turn it off. This gets you up in the morning, and alert enough to get ready.

Option Two: Find alternatives to the perks of coffee.
Coffee makes you alert and awake. Apples do the same thing. As does tea. There are many options you can research that provides you ways to get the same alertness without the dangerous substance.

Option Three: Avoid going on coffee dates.
If you have been invited out to a coffee date, try and get something other than coffee. Get a soft drink. Get a cup of tea. Get a hot chocolate. These are less harmful and are still acceptable in social situations.

If you feel the need to have multiple cups of coffee a day, let someone who cares about you know. Maybe they could help. Having someone who you're accountable to often can help people when they need to quit something.

I tell you this because I care about you readers.
Even those I have never met.
Even you.
You. Sitting behind the computer screen, possibly even sipping at your coffee right now. How many is that today? Three? Four? Have you felt the need to stop drinking coffee? How about you try it for a day. Don't quit cold turkey. Just try it. Try one of the options. You never know. This could save your life.

You're welcome.

For more information about the Chlorogenic Acid and the effects it has, check out this link: http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health-fitness/coffee-linked-to-deadly-fat/story-fneuzkvr-1226650453552