O coffee is present in the lives of billions of people around the planet. Drinking is not only part of everyday life, but has also become a cultural habit for some people, in addition to being socially linked to consumerism and work.
One of the first things most people do is have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning, sometimes they have it throughout the day as well.
This excessive intake has been the target of several criticisms, which, to date, have not reduced overall consumption. However, they have led to different questions about its components and the addictive properties of caffeine.
However, are we really addicted and can this affect us negatively? The answer may surprise you!
Study provides new evidence on the effects of coffee
In April of this year, market research firm OnePoll analyzed the responses of more than two thousand office workers regarding their coffee consumption. This allowed them to obtain data on our habits, and the results can be quite impressive.
Around 66% of the 2,050 respondents said they would drink a hot cup of coffee as their first drink of the day. And 47% of them preferred a colder coffee when they arrived at work.
Only 24% of participants said they needed more caffeine on Mondays. Furthermore, 59% said they drank the product while out and about.
Coffee for work
Lavazza Group’s marketing director, Camille Vareille, says that more than 80% of the company’s employees relate the free distribution of coffee to a reward for production.
Additionally, having coffee in the office helps workers save money and saves time searching for drinks at nearby restaurants.
But is coffee really addictive?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO):
“There is no evidence that caffeine use has physical or social consequences even remotely comparable to the consequences of drugs.”
In other words, coffee is simply not addictive. Even though it contains caffeine, the amount is low enough not to be addictive, as it is still made up of several substances and nutrients that are beneficial to health.
Furthermore, ingesting the product may at most cause some feeling of psychological addiction, but not chemical dependence.
In fact, drinking coffee in a controlled manner is recommended to maintain well-being. Contrary to what many believe, children can indeed drink coffee, but care must be taken with the dosage. Children between the ages of 2 and 6, for example, cannot drink more than half a cup per day.
