Pros And Cons Of Coffee Drinking To caffeinate, or not to caffeinate… that is the question. In past e-Alerts I've examined some of the pros and cons of coffee drinking. And that's one thing you can safely say about coffee drinking: there are plenty of pros and cons. Recently I came across the latest dispatch from the Coffee Pro/Con Standoff: Those with a history of kidney stones might do best to keep the caffeine consumption to a minimum. Caffeine intake is known to increase the volume of calcium excreted in the urine. And it's also known that urinary calcium is associated with an increased risk of developing kidney stones. So
researchers at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver recruited about 40 subjects who had kidney stones, and nine subjects who did not. After 14 hours of fasting, each subject
consumed a caffeinated drink. Urine was tested two hours before taking the drink and again two hours after. Results showed that well over 75 percent of the subjects in the kidney stone group had significantly elevated urinary calcium levels when measured against a stone risk index. The control group also had higher calcium levels in their urine, but without the danger of developing kidney stones, according to the risk index. In an interview with Reuters Health, the lead author of the study, Dr. Linda K. Massey, said that patients with kidney stones should keep their daily coffee consumption under two cups (16 fluid
ounces). Two cups per day sounds like plenty enough to get those brain cells percolating in the morning. To Your Good Health, Jenny Thompson
Health Sciences Institute Sources:
"Acute Caffeine Effects on Urine Composition and Calcium
Kidney Stone Risk in Calcium Stone Formers" The Journal of
Urology, Vol, 172, No. 2, August 2004, ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
"Too Much Caffeine Ups Risk of Kidney Stones" Alison McCook,
Reuters Health, 9/3/04, reutershealth.com
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