I like coffee a lot even though I can hardly taste it!  My dentist can’t stand the coffee stains on the inner surfaces of my teeth; apparently stains are good places for bad biofilms.  Biofilms are ‘communities’ of bacteria co-existing perhaps with a dash of fungi, a smidgen of bacteriophages, and volunteer viruses. They are held together by extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) and tethered to inert surfaces such as teeth, catheters, prostheses, and implants. Home for the wee beasties becomes long-term quarters in what one article on PubMed.gov calls “the biofilm lifestyle.”  More on biofilms in an upcoming post. Meanwhile, for the sake of my dentist, I dilute my morning coffee with water, or drink it with soy milk. I still can’t taste it, and I still love it.

 But let’s move on to important coffee news.  Researchers from the University of South Australia have found that drinking too much coffee can contribute to osteoarthritis, joint disease, and obesity. This same group determined that six cups a day was the absolute safe level of consumption. Another study, conducted at the Australian Centre for Precision Health at the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, was based on 17,702 participants aged 37 to 73 and their relationship with coffee. Principal investigator Kitty Pham declared “We consistently found that higher coffee consumption was significantly associated with reduced brain volume” and increased risk of dementia. They declare “Rethink your drink” if your consumption comes even close to six cups a day. Earlier studies declared coffee drinking protects the brain from dementia. What is it then: A good-for-the-brain drink or bad? Six cups too much or just fine?

 To end on an up-note, a prospective study over 12 years determined that coffee does not cause cardiac arrhythmias. Analyzing data from UK Biobank, the investigators determined “each additional cup of habitual coffee consumed was associated with a 3% lower risk of incident arrhythmia.” That sounds completely ridiculous to me, but it was printed in JAMA in July of this year, so could it be so?

I’m down to one diluted cup per day.  Heaven forbid they ever investigate dark chocolate!