Brewed for Balance: What Coffee and Science Keep Teaching Me
I’ve always said coffee is more than a drink. It’s a ritual, a rhythm, and sometimes the very thing that keeps the world spinning at 0600, before heading to the airport enroute to my next class, tackling multiple meetings, or pushing through the mundane tasks of entrepreneurship. Whether it’s a quick drive-through cup, a Nespresso in my office morning, or a frothy pistachio whipped coffee experiment, each sip feels like comfort and curiosity wrapped together.
What fascinates me most is how science keeps catching up with what many of us have long suspected that coffee, in moderation, isn’t something to feel guilty about. In fact, it might just be doing more good than harm.
The American Heart Association recently highlighted a study showing that people who enjoyed about one cup of coffee a day had a lower risk of recurrent atrial fibrillation and atrial flutter than those who skipped caffeine altogether. That’s right, moderate coffee drinkers fared better than abstainers.
Another study found that drinking coffee mainly in the morning could reduce cardiovascular-related mortality, and yet another linked moderate daily coffee to improved metabolic and cognitive outcomes. It seems that every few months, the data gets richer and the myths weaker.
Of course, as a nurse, I know it’s not a one-size-fits-all beverage. The same cup that jump-starts my day and provides me focus, might send someone else’s heart racing. The key word, like in so many parts of life, is balance.
I think part of why this research interests me is that it bridges my two worlds: the scientific and the human. I love how something as everyday as coffee connects us across continents, cultures, and conversations and yet still has a story to tell under the microscope.
It reminds me that health isn’t about restriction, it’s about relationships with our habits, our bodies, and the small joys that sustain us. For me, coffee is one of those joys.
So here’s to the next cup, to curiosity, and to continuing to learn, because every discovery, like every good brew, deserves time to steep.
References
• Iten, V., Herber, E., Coslovsky, M. et al. Coffee consumption and adverse cardiovascular events in patients with atrial fibrillation. BMC Med 22, 593 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12916-024-03817-x
• Wong, C. X., Cheung, C. C., Montenegro, G., Oo, H. H., Peña, I. J., Tang, J. J., Tu, S. J., Wall, G., Dewland, T. A., Moss, J. D., Gerstenfeld, E. P., Tseng, Z. H., Hsia, H. H., Lee, R. J., Olgin, J. E., Vedantham, V., Scheinman, M. M., Lee, C., Sanders, P., & Marcus, G. M. (2025). Caffeinated Coffee Consumption or Abstinence to Reduce Atrial Fibrillation: The DECAF Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA, 10.1001/jama.2025.21056. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2025.21056
• Xuan Wang, Hao Ma, Qi Sun, Jun Li, Yoriko Heianza, Rob M Van Dam, Frank B Hu, Eric Rimm, JoAnn E Manson, Lu Qi, Coffee drinking timing and mortality in US adults, European Heart Journal, Volume 46, Issue 8, 21 February 2025, Pages 749–759, https://doi.org/10.1093/eurheartj/ehae871
