Quiz - Cup O’ Smart
Like eggs and butter, coffee is a morning favorite—some would claim necessity—that gets maligned in several healthcare articles but then praised in several others. Nobody would argue that more caffeine is a good thing, but the facts behind moderate coffee consumption are a bit more complex. Take our quiz to help sort out the good beans from the bad:
1. Drinking coffee is a guilty pleasure with no health benefits.
A. True
B. False
2. To get the most benefit from coffee or tea, drink it ____.
A. With milk for some extra calcium
B. With artificial sweetener to cut calories
C. In 32-ounce servings
D. Black or almost black
3. Moderate coffee consumption generally means drinking __ small, 8-ounce cups per day.
A. 1-2
B. 2-3
C. 3-5
D. 5-6
4. Coffee can be beneficial to colon health.
A. True
B. False
5. Several studies of coffee drinkers have shown a link between moderate consumption of coffee and a reduced risk of:
A. Alzheimer’s disease
B. Type 2 diabetes
C. Liver cirrhosis
D. Heart disease
E. All of the above
Answers:
1. B. False. Coffee contains large amounts of antioxidants that help reduce the risk of several diseases.
2. D. Black or almost black. Adding milk, cream, or sugar adds fat and calories to the drink. On the other hand, artificial sweeteners are synthetic sugar substitutes that offer no nutritional value.
3. C. 3-5. Studies have shown that consuming more than 5 cups of coffee a day provides no additional benefits, but could cause symptoms of too much caffeine, such as nervousness or difficulty sleeping, for certain people.
4. A. True. Drinking coffee stimulates movement of the colonic muscles, which can help promote bowel regularity.
5. E. All of the above. Though the studies did not prove that coffee consumption directly caused the reduced risk, researchers found that the participants who were coffee drinkers were less likely to die from these different diseases than the non-coffee drinkers.
This quiz was developed with the assistance of Haley Cox, a clinical dietitian at St. Joseph’s/Candler.