I am an avid coffee drinker since I was eight years old. I’ve seen my father drinks coffee at morning, during snacks, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner and at midnight snacks. Every time that he went home after his work I am never surprised that his cup was filled and refilled with coffee. Like the famous quotation "like father like son" (in my case daughter), my father also is an avid coffee drinker.

However in my college years, away from home , I’ve met different people wearing lab coats and nursing scrubs, met different patients with different diseases suffered and still suffering, I wonder if coffee is really beneficial to my health as to my father’s health and many people out there who like me are avid coffee drinkers.

Thomas H. Lee, a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School, Boston. Attributing the benefits to large, long-term studies, Lee says that "long-running research shows that drinking coffee cuts the risk of dying early from a heart attack or stroke, and the bean improves productivity, too." However Upasna Kamineni, Vice Chairman, Apollo Charities, and an active campaigner for health issues, said, "Coffee is both a health and a social hazard, and the cons far outweigh the pros,". Kamineni, also the Director of Lifetime Wellness RX, an Apollo Group body that conducts health talks, assessments and camps and also undertakes research-based projects on lifestyle disorders, thinks that it's best one stays away from the brew altogether. She added that the excessive caffeine in coffee can boost blood pressure and can leave one dehydrated. Add milk and sugar, and it becomes a recipe for disaster, that is bound to add extra pounds.

Based from Wikipedia, coffee contains several compounds which are known to affect human body chemistry. The coffee bean itself contains chemicals which are psychotropic for humans as a by-product of their defense mechanism. These chemicals are toxic in large doses, or even in their normal amount.

According to the same source here are the lists of benefits that coffee could give, some are proven by long time research but some are not yet proven much:

• Reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease and Dementia

• Reduced risk of gallstone disease

• Reduced risk of Parkinson's disease

• Cognitive performance

• Analgesic enhancement

• Antidiabetic

• Liver disease

• Cancer

• Cardioprotective

• Laxative/diuretic

• Antioxidant

• Gout

And these are the disadvantages of coffee:

• Cancer

• Gastrointestinal problems

• Anxiety and sleep changes

• Cosmetic

• Cholesterol

• Blood pressure

• Effects on pregnancy

• Iron deficiency anemia

• Coronary artery disease

So what’s the verdict?