by Marc Abrahams in Improbable Research
To see this video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTUCk4aiAAQ
A question may be difficult (or impossible) to really answer, but
that difficulty does not prevent authoritative people from supplying
authoritative answers.
A November 16, 2015 press release brews up a new
authoritative answer to the question “Is drinking coffee good or bad for your
health”:
Moderate coffee drinking may lower risk of premature death
HARVARD T.H. CHAN SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH
Boston, MA – People who drink about three to five cups of coffee
a day may be less likely to die prematurely from some illnesses than those who
don’t drink or drink less coffee, according to a new study by Harvard T.H. Chan
School of Public Health researchers and colleagues….
“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and
systematic inflammation,” said first author Ming Ding, a doctoral student in
the Department of Nutrition. “That could explain some of our findings. However,
more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing
these effects.”
The study is: “Association of Coffee Consumption with Total
and Cause-specific Mortality in Three Large Prospective Cohorts,” Ming Ding,
Ambika Satija, Shilpa N. Bhupathiraju, Yang Hu, Qi Sun,Walter Willett, Rob M. van Dam, Frank B. Hu , Circulation, online
November 16, 2015.
The authors and their institution made a video to inform
the public that the coffee question has now been answered:
BONUS ACTIVITY: Read the entire press release, and also the entire
study. Count the number of times you see the words “may” or “could“.
BONUS BONUS ACTIVITY: Read several press accounts of this study.
For each press account, count the number of times you see the words “may” or “could“. Perhaps
begin with these two news reports: “Drink up, coffee’s good for you. (Even decaf!)” and “Coffee could literally be a lifesaver“.
EXTRA BONUS BONUS ACTIVITY, FOR EXTREMELY NERDY READERS ONLY:
In the space of one minute (60 seconds), list five reasons why it is difficult
or impossible to find the real answer to the question “Is drinking coffee good
or bad for your health?”