facebook-pixel

Letter: The LDS Church should take another look at coffee

(Thibault Camus | AP file photo) Coffee cups and glasses used by customers are left on an outside table of the cafe Au petit Fer a Cheval in Paris, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2019.

In 2012, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints reversed its previous stand that consumption of caffeinated soft drinks violated obeying the Word of Wisdom.

President Russell Nelson is fast becoming known as a prophet of change. Has the time now come to also remove coffee from the prohibited list?

The November issue of Consumer Reports includes the results of a recent comprehensive study by Edward Glovannucci, M.D., of the renowned Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, concerning the healthy aspects of this universally consumed beverage.

He reported over the past 20 years, there has been “little evidence it’s bad for you — if anything, there’s more evidence that it may be healthy to drink.” He reports strong evidence that coffee lowers the risk of endometrial cancer, gallstones, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, liver fibrosis, liver cancer, oral cancer and Type 2 diabetes. There is moderate evidence it also helps prevent a list of additional serious medical health concerns.

If the purpose of the Word of Wisdom is to help promote a healthy lifestyle, it may be time to stop vilifying coffee’s use now that evidence has been compiled about its healthy benefits.

Raymond A. Hult, Bountiful

Submit a letter to the editor