It is somewhat surprising that a doctor is advocating the consumption of an addictive stimulant drug to prevent a disease - gout - that appears to be rather uncommon.....and which, it is said, may be avoided entirely by good dietary habits!

We buy coffee in the food stores. However, though we consume it with food, and as any other beverage, the reality is that we are ingesting a powerful and addictive stimulant -
caffeine.

Certainly coffee can be a delightful and delicious beverage, that lifts the spirit, sharpens the mind and stimulates the brain. However, as noted in the article, its long-term effects on health are very controversial.

I have observed that friends, family and aquaintances who have developed high blood pressure and cancers of the bladder and pancreas have one thing in common: Long - term consumption of coffee.

The similarity of coffee to tobacco is noteworthy: Both are addictive vegetable products that are consumed unnaturally.

Drinker, BEWARE!

Garth Rex, Glendale heights, USA

Have twice read through Dr. Stuttaford's piece on coffee helping with gout but still not clear whether decaffeinated coffee has similar beeficial effect. Would very much appreciate having that point made clear.

Allen Offord, Sandy, UK

@ simon h...

Anything, taken in excess, can have negative affects, including water and oxygen.

Sam Tana, Preston, UK

I've been drinking coffee for over 30 years now and I would never stop drinking it. The first thing I do when overseas is locate the coffee shop that prepares a good strong coffee!

Back here in the UK, you'd be surprised how many so-called coffee shops serve wishy-washy 'brown stuff'. Maybe it's because people here are so willing to accept anything given to them - as long as it has a foreign name and costs the earth!

John, London, UK

I decaffeinated myself about 15 years ago as it became clear to me that coffee and tea were playng havock with my bloodsugar levels. I would feel good for a while after drinking caffeine but then my bloodsugar would crash leaving me a little shaky and feeling weak. I'd drink more coffee and eat another biccy but that would only keep me going for a short while. Drinking decaf means that I stay on an even keel all day long. I can't tell you how much better I feel, even if some people can't understand what "harm" a wee cup of coffee can do to some people...

Caffeine aint' for everyone. Time for a nice cup of decaf Typhoo!

Allan, New York, USA

The best argument against coffee is that tea is a healthier choice.

Why no comment on the effect of coffee on migraine? If I drink coffee, I often get a migraine a day or two later. I have heard that severe migraine can be alleviated by intravenous caffiene.

A Clarke, London,

Coffee is a fabulous mood enhancer and is very effective in sweeping away that early morning not quite awake yet dopy feeling. I've always been sure of its beneficial effects.

Arnold Ward, Weybridge, Surrey, UK

I love a good cup of coffee in the morning, too, and admit that it raises my heart rate sometimes more than I like. A coffee after dinner has been known to cause me temporary insomnia. I'm glad it's being cleared of more ominous ill-effects though. Thank you for your lovely article.

Mark Mulligan, Shepherdstown, US

"but in excess it can have negative affects" - simon h

Yeah, water in excess can have negative effects. Chocolate in excess can have negative effects. Any substance in excess can have negative effects. Dr. Stuttaford is not advocating drinking coffee to excess though, is he? So let us enjoy our coffee in peace.

Nick the D, Birmingham,

I generally prefer a quick snifter of single malt to perk me up in the morning.

Greville Walbrooke-Soames, Sydney, Australia

The author has neglected to mention the psychological aspects of caffeine, which can be quite detrimental. Maybe it does reduce the suicide rate in women, but in excess it can have negative affects. It is after all, an addictive stimulant.
Seems a pretty subjective little opinion piece, rather than article to be taken very seriously.

simon h, london,

There's nothing like a good strong mug of quality coffee to drink after a nice evening meal to lift the spirits and stimulate the mind. It's heavenly.

Jean, Norwich,

Pity it tastes, in the words of Edmund Blackadder, like "brown grit".

jane b, london, england

I think we all have to see this is issue from an optimistic view and let not trouble ourselves with the question of benefit or harm effects from a cup of coffee. Although no doubt coffee brings about some physiological changes such as stated above, but there is insufficient evidence linked it to major diseases as cigarette smoking clearly have.

SO moderation is thought to be the solution here as too little may not bring about it benefits and too much may be harmful in some sort of way.

Muhammad, kuala lumpur, Malaysia

Garth Rex: Are you saying nature did or didn't intend us to ingest coffee?

Juulia Tarma, London, UK

Coffee IS carcinogenic, and particularly if taken in the quantities mentioned here - five or six cups a day is at best unwise, particularly if we consider that a largely healty lifestyle will dramatically reduce the risk of gout without the need to up the risk of cancer.

John, London,

Garth Rex, such a bold name, and yet ... Never heard you could smoke coffee but thanks for the tip!

elizabeth schumann, Paris, France

While the nicotine in cigarettes is a highly addictive drug this in itself is mostly non-harmful. It is the smoke from the combustion of tobacco leaf that is the principle cause of smoking related diseases - The cancer-inducing element being the ring-chain alkane benzo-a-pyrene - a gas produced in ALL combustions and is even emitted from hot fat from frying and BBQ's. Non-smokers beware!! Let us not put Coffee and tobacco in the same danger category.

The critical word is "heavy" and most things in moderation, even arsenic and warfarin, are beneficial. Toxicity is related to Dose!!

Chris Brandon, Welwyn, England

if coffee is dangerous we should stop drinking it and the government has a responsibility to ban it; in a similar manner to their policy on smoking. they should also ban alchohol because that is also dangerous. dangerous too is living in london because of terrorist threats so they should probably tell londoners to move to the countryside where it is less dangerous. on the not of danger, the speed limit should be reduced to 5mph and a man waving a red flag should be required to walk ahead of all cars and warn the public of potential dangers this poses. people should also be kept indoors at all time unless absolutely necessary and when they do go outside they should be wrapped in a mattress incase they injure themsleves through falling, or not noticing the dangers posed by men waving red flags

lighten up people

simon mawdsley, London,

Garth Rex - I'm glad most scientists don't share your brand of "common sense".

Let's see ... you compare two plant-based addictive substances by noting some commonality in their preparation, and assume this means that they must have similarly carcinogenic properties. Amazing. And as for your next sentence - post hoc, ergo propter hoc is all I have to say.

Finally, how do you know what nature intended you to eat? Few "natural" western foods these days are the same as you would find in the wild. Good luck feeding yourself ...

Hugh Tonks, Cambridge, UK

@Garth

So, roasting coffee beans is b*a*d. What about roasting beef. Or frying mushrooms, peppers, and other vegetables. Do you have anything against cold-pressed olive oil?

100% of the people I know who died of anything, ate carrots... sometimes even raw. Think about it. Said another way: the plural of anecdote is *not* evidence.

And, as for "PLEASE ALLOW A DIFFERENT OPINION!". They have. They let you comment didn't they. Or did you mean they should include an intellegent counter-point in the form of research and evidence and not just your wild and breathless conclusion-jumping?

Ryan, Cape Town, South Africa

This brings into my mind reading an article on the harmful effects of using coconut oil for cooking and to my surprise, later to be brought by a leading journal as severly advocating coconut oil for food.As a matter of experience and folklore of my country, anything that is too less and too much, even if its the elixir of life, is extremely dangerous!

Jarvie John Samuel, Chennai, India

The medical profession changes its mind about diet every 2 - 3 yrs. When they finally decide that lying in bed all day drinking beer and eating potato crisps is the healthiest way to live - in moderation of course - I'm ahead of the game!

alan, Kerikeri, NZ

PLEASE ALLOW A DIFFERENT OPINION!

While coffee is undoubtedly a most delicious stimulant, please note its similarity to tobacco:

Both are of vegetable origin, both produced by "curing" or "roasting"...and both are highly addictive!

Common sense tell us that if one (tobacco) causes cancer.......watch out for the other one! All the men/women that I knew who have suffered or died from bladder cancer or pancreatic cancer...have been heavy coffee drinkers.

IF NATURE DID NOT INTEND YOU TO EAT OR INGEST SOMETHING: DON'T!

Garth Rex, Glendale heights, USA

You should include the fact that it has a positive efect in the memory capabilities, but also the undesirable effect if is stoped abruptly to produce headaches.

Jose Perez, Guadalajara, Mexico

Maybe but whenever I drink coffee which I enjoy, my prostatitis plays up no end.

Jim, Beijing,