Eating fast food and drinking pop is bad for you, but we all still do it knowing how bad it may be. Same goes for coffee. I am guilty for being a big coffee drinker even though I know it is not the healthiest thing. Since consuming coffee is normal in our society, the bad effects it has is overlooked by many. If you drink coffee everyday, you may want to rethink that choice. Coffee drinkers at WO should be aware of the horrible long term effects it can have on their health.
Starbucks, JP’s, Lemonjellos, and Bigby are popular coffee shops in town for many of our students. People go there to do homework, study, and socialize. Since these are the hangout spots for many young adults, this means that coffee consumption is high. A lot of us drink coffee in the morning when we attend school, during the day, and later in the afternoon for socializing.
It is so popular that it has almost become a “trend” to be a coffee drinker. Do we drink it for the “look” it gives us, or do we actually enjoy the beverage? Not only is drinking coffee in the morning daily a problem, but consuming more than one cup a day can increase the effects.
Coffee contains caffeine, but it is not bad for your health when drunk occasionally. It is only an issue when it becomes a daily thing and your body becomes reliant on the intake of coffee.
Everyone drinks their coffee differently. Some enjoy it black and bitter, while others prefer it light and sweetened. When I purchase coffee from The Perk, I add three to four packets of sugar and three cups of creamer. If I was a daily coffee drinker, I would consume 1,095 packets of sugar a year. Assuming that I live to at least 80 years old, I would consume 87,600 packets of sugar in my lifetime. Sr. Drew Behrendt is an avid coffee drinker. “I drink a little less than a half pot of black coffee every school day. That is like 4 cups of coffee a day. I do not need it. I am fine without it. It just gives me a boost,” Behrendt said. He especially enjoys coffee on cold, gloomy Winter days. If Behrendt also lives to 80 years old with this habit, he would have consumed 116,800 cups of coffee in his life. This amount of coffee can fill 7 swimming pools.
Knowing these facts, coffee drinkers at WO are still going to enjoy their different types of coffee everyday, but at least this way they can visualize the consumption throughout their lifetime. They are aware of what they are putting into their body and the possible impacts. Who knows, maybe they will rethink their habit. With these negative health effects, it is important for coffee drinkers at WO to reflect on whether or not drinking coffee is really necessary.
