Coffee is Good. Coffee is Bad. You Choose

Last Updated on November 16, 2011 by Jimson Lee

If you drink alcohol, you’ve seen the ads where there are different portion sizes for various drinks.

A beer is served in a 10-12 oz glass.  A glass of wine is 5 oz, and a shot of hard liquor is 1.25 oz..  For the purpose of conversion, 1 US fluid ounce (oz) = 29.57 milliliters or about 30 mL.

So, how big is a cup of coffee?  That’s like asking, “How long is a piece of string”?

Go to any diner or restaurant, and you’ll generally see a cup of coffee served in a cup as shown on the photo.

That cup is 6 oz. Maybe 5 oz when filled near the top.  And for decades, that was in the industry standard.  I know, I worked in a restaurant in the 70’s and 80’s.  They don’t serve you wine in a beer mug, right?

So why on earth do coffee shops serve coffee in 3 sizes… 12oz, 16oz, and heaven forbid, 20 oz?  Venti is Italian for 20, and 20 oz is equivalent to 4 cups of coffee with over 300 mg of caffeine.

My position on coffee and espresso (of course!) is if you drink it in moderation by itself, it should pose very minimal risk.

My problem with coffee is that it’s abused by office workers who are overweight, have a sedentary lifestyle, and have a terrible diet full of simple sugars and starches.  Thank God people are smoking less these days (well, maybe not in Italy).

Insulin is the Controller

My biggest concern with aging and overweight people is their resistance and sensitivity, especially insulin.

Excessive coffee & caffeine will raise Insulin levels, and too much insulin isn’t a good thing as your body becomes resistant to it.

Another problem with coffee is people will have a sweet pastry or dolci to go with it.  Yes, more simple sugars and carbs!

And we know how sugar or glucose increases insulin, right?

It’s the same with overweight people with Diabetes Insipidus (not Diabetes Mellitus).  Their fat cells have become desensitized to insulin, and usually losing weight is a quick short term fix.

Insulin stimulates the release of interleukin-6 or IL-6 which leads to more inflammation and hypersensitivity.  For more information on food, inflammation and pain, see the previous article called Are the Foods You Are Eating Keeping You in Pain?

Increased insulin leads to the release of cortisol, and that means more glucose.  And more glucose means more insulin.  It’s a vicious cycle.

And you wonder why your body is out of whack after a modern day coffee break at Starbucks?