Coffee

A consultant Public Health Physician with the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Dr. Kemi Odukoya has cautioned against abuse of coffee as it may have adverse effect on the consumer.  Odukoya made this comment during an interview session with health reporters in Lagos.

Odukoya, who is also a member of Ignite Scientific Group, said moderation is the key in everything and such moderation should be extended to the consumption of coffee. She said as much as coffee is beneficial to the body, it must not be abused just as no food substance should be abused. The medical expert said it is evident that the myths against coffee arose from the abuse of the beverage.

She explained that coffee is obtained from the fruit which is a coffee bean and that most of the coffee we drink are processed from that coffee bean in which there are no addictives. This,  according to her is an advantage. She said the type of coffee we drink in Nigeria is soluble coffee which is a healthier alternative because it doesn’t have some cholesterol in it.

Odukoya admitted that earlier research on coffee suggested Coffee has some negative effects but the modern day researches have proved otherwise. She said one major constituents of coffee is caffeine which a lot of people have mistaken for Nicotine. The medical expert said caffeine is not a bad constituent as she explained that caffeine is present in some other food substances, drinks and medicine.

She however admitted that some people are sensitive to caffeine and advised that such people should only take decaffeinated coffee.  The Public Health Physician and lecturer emphasized that coffee and any other beverage must be taken with moderation.  She said if water is not taken with moderation, it could harm the body and urge the general public not to abuse coffee because it has been established that it is good.

Odukoya said coffee contains several health benefits one of which is anti oxidants. She explained that anti oxidants are very unique because they help the body to fight oxidative stress that attacks the body. She said coffee is very rich in anti oxidants and that is one of the reasons the Ignite team decided to campaign for coffee. She said coffee has more anti oxidants per unit that fruit and vegetable combined.

She said recent findings have established that coffee has some inherent benefits when moderately consumed. According to her, it is wrong for anyone to take coffee as a drug   just because it is established that is good for the body. She said having a reason to drink coffee other than to enjoy it as a beverage is the beginning of abuse.

She warned that students should not take coffee as energizer during examination nor should a person on the fat side take coffee thinking it will help reduce fat. She said coffee is indeed a world class beverage that must not be abused.