Think Coffee Is Bad for You? This Ad Campaign May Be Why

Friday marks National Coffee Day, the unofficial holiday for coffee addicts, where the buzz online is where to find deals on free or discounted cups of java. But “because it’s free” isn’t the only reason to be happy with a cup of coffee: these days there’s more and more evidence that a moderate amount of coffee is good for you. “By now, it’s clear: There’s a strong case for the health benefits of coffee,” TIME reported, earlier this year. “Studies have recently shown that regular java drinkers have a lower risk of diabetes, fewer strokes and heart problems and lower rates of certain cancers.” That’s a fact that may surprise even the most dedicated coffee drinkers, as coffee has long had a bad reputation among health-minded American consumers. But if coffee’s so good for you, how did that assumption come to be? One specific place to start is the period around the turn of the 20th century, when the Progressive-era health reform movement was in full swing. When entrepreneur and farm-implement salesman Charles William “C.W.” Post came down with a bad case of neurasthenia in 1885 — a problem that might be called “burnout” today — he checked into a rehab facility where he was taught that the “road to Wellville” involved giving up stimulants, of which coffee was a prime example. Not content to keep that advice to himself, he developed a coffee substitute he ...
Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Food & Drink food and drink Source Type: news