I have no proof, not of intentional lying. But there is plenty of proof that a quote attributed to Vanderbilt University's Dr. Peter R. Martin, by over 100 newspapers yesterday, is FALSE and could prove harmful to people who believe him!
Dr. "Pants-on-Fire" Martin is Professor of Psychiatry and Pharmacology, and the Director of the Institute of Coffee Studies located within the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Yes, he is an educated man. Yes, he's a psychiatrist with an M.D. degree. Yes, he has taught future doctors.
And yet, this is what he said : "Even though at one time coffee was considered harmful to your health, at this point there is no compelling research to indicate that, in fact, is true." (For just one source, see New York Daily News.)
WRONG! CAFFEINE CAN BE HARMFUL
His comment -- which was wrong -- was in response to the HealthSaver Caffeinated Cities Survey (naming which U.S. cities drink the most cups of caffeine-filled coffee). Meant to highlight the "health" benefits of caffeine, this clever, well-publicized survey got lots of news media coverage. It seemed like every newspaper and television station in the country used this story yesterday, talking about where their city came in the rankings. I "Googled " the topic and read many of the articles. Sadly none of the articles that I read questioned either the survey motivation, results, or Dr. Peter R. Martin's statement.
Just to be perfectly clear.There continues to be a great deal of scientific evidence that caffeine can be deleterious to your health. In fact, Ethic Soup posted an article on Caffeine Facts recently listing some of this evidence. Additionally, there has been a lot of news articles on the Miller-Coors "alcopop" Sparks which contained caffeine until forced off the market by a coalition of state attorneys general. There is so much concern about caffeine that last week a new product, D+Caf test strips was released which in 30-seconds tests the cup of coffee you ordered to make certain decaf is really decaf.
Now why would Dr. Martin make a false statement about there being no compelling research indicating that caffeinated coffee is harmful to your health?
SURPRISE! CONFLICT-OF-INTEREST
Surprise! Vanderbilt's Institute of Coffee Studies, for which Dr. Martin has been the director ever since it was established in 1999, is funded by the Brazilian Coffee Assn. and other coffee-growing organizations. Initially, the coffee-growers gave Nashville's Vanderbilt University $6 million to establish the institute and to investigate the compounds present in coffee that are associated with its psychopharmacological effects, reported Nature Medicine. Knowing the institute's mission adds to the amazement of the incredulous lack of knowledge represented by Martin's statement.
The Association for Medical Ethics, with experts from industry, academia and government (including physicians and ethicists) has stated it believes in clear and full disclosure of money received from industry for research.
"FULL disclosure is absolutely crucial in order to determine whether data has independent validity or not, which is a critical concept in science that helps ensure the integrity of research," said Dr. Charles Rosen, AME president, reported by Medical News Today.
Now today, just one day after Dr. Martin's statement denying coffee's harmful affects, there is news about research from U.K.'s Durham University, with results just published in Personality and Individual Differences, which contradict Martin.
SEVEN CUPS MAY MEAN HALLUCINATIONS
Seven cups of coffee a day may lead to hallucinations. Whoa! Consuming the caffeine in seven cups of instant coffee daily may leave you more likely to see, hear and smell things that are not there. The study of 219 college students showed that people who drank 330 milligrams of caffeine were three times as likely to have hallucinations as those who consumed less than 10 milligrams a day. Researchers proved the relationship between high caffeine consumption and an increased release of cortisol, a stress hormone believed to contribute to hallucinations, reports Bloomberg.Com.
The amount of caffeine linked to hallucinations is equivalent to approx. seven 8-ounce cups of brewed black tea or about 3 1/2 8-ounce cups of brewed black coffee, as listed on the Mayo Clinic Web site. How many cups of Starbucks coffee would it take for an hallucination? Just one 16-ounce Starbucks drip coffee (which has 330 milligrams of caffeine) according to the Starbucks Web site.
I would love to hear Dr. Peter R. Martin's response to this new research. Uh-Oh --maybe he made that statement after consuming one of those 16-ounce Starbucks coffees. He could have been having hallucinations himself.
Besides my aggravation at Martin for giving dangerously wrong information to the public and his unethical lack of disclosure of his financial ties to the coffee industry, I am angry with the news media. How can so many just repeat the information they are handed in a press release, without any verification? All of the articles I read, from varying newspapers and online news sites, quoted the same statement from Dr. Martin. Seemingly, no one took the time to question his bald-faced statement about the research. It took me about 10 minutes to find his financial ties to the Brazilian Coffee Growers Assn. Why didn't anyone else report that?
ACCOUNTABILITY IS IMPORTANT
Why is it so important? Well, many people automatically believe what a university professor, researcher and/or doctor says. As authority-figures, they garner a lot of respect, deserved or not. So how many pregnant women, addicted to caffeine, feel they have the okay to continue drinking coffee while pregnant because they read his statement in the newspaper. "It isn't harmful to my health, the doctor said so."
The problem is that a coffee-drinking woman who is pregnant is at a higher risk to have a miscarriage than a non-coffee drinker. Additionally consumption of large amounts of caffeine by the mother during pregnancy may cause problems with the heart rhythm of the baby. A Canadian study found that children born by mothers who had consumed more than 3 cups of coffee or 6 cups of tea daily were found to have, on average, a lower birth weight and smaller head circumference.
This is just the evidence from three research studies and only about pregnancy risks. There are a number of other risks, like caffeine-intoxication. The symptoms for caffeine-intoxication look like symptoms found in psychotic persons. In fact, mental health professionals frequently can't tell the difference and doctors who misdiagnose also prescribe heavy-duty psychotropic drugs.
Good luck to the person who finds herself in a hospital Psych Ward and tells the gatekeepers: "No, no, I'm not psychotic. I just had too much coffee. Really, Let me out!"
It's called ethics and accountability. None of us really realizes just how much our actions affect other people. But those who have positions of responsibility and know they are perceived as authority-figures should know better! And others who see this behavior should speak up.
To read the "Medical Ethics Rules of Disclosure" of the Assn. for Medical Ethics, click here.
For more of the caffeine story, read "Caffeine is in Everything..."CLICK HERE.
Sharon McEachern
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