Coffee is the largest traded food and beverage commodity in the world, which makes it a popular drink, worldwide. While many may enjoy the drink for its taste, oblivious to the health benefits associated with their favourite morning cuppa. One such apparent coffee lover has taken to the popular social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to claim that it could protect one from thyroid disease, including cancer!

“Coffee drinkers have a lower incidence of thyroid disease, including Cancer, than non-drinkers,” reads the post, shared by a verified handle with over 33,000 followers. The post itself has gotten over 55,000 views.

But what are the facts? Let’s break it down.

CLAIM #1:

Coffee drinkers have a lower incidence of thyroid disease, than non-drinkers.

FACT: 

While coffee affects thyroid activity in people, it is not associated with risks of hyper- or hypothyroidism

Thyroid disease pertains to the thyroid gland. A small butterfly-shaped glan[d located at the front of one’s neck, under the skin. The gland releases the thyroid hormone, which regulates metabolism, growth, and many other functions of the human body such as blood pressure, body temperature, heart rate, metabolism and the like. Any health condition pertaining to the thyroid hormone would be due to over-or under-secretion of the hormone, a condition termed hyper or hypo-thyroidism, respectively.

A study showed that people who drank upto 9.97 mg of caffeine a day, their thyroid hormone levels increased with the increase in caffeine intake. However, when people consumed between 9.97–264.97 mg of caffeine a day, their thyroid hormones reduced, with increase in caffeine consumption.

“After adjusting for age, sex, race, drinking, smoking, medical conditions, and micronutrient and macronutrient intake, caffeine intake of less than 9.97 mg/d was positively associated with serum TSH (p = 0.035, standardized β = 0.155); however, moderate caffeine consumption (9.97–264.97 mg/d) indicated a negative association (p = 0.001, standardized β = − 0.152),” it said.

In fact another study found that, drinking less than 2 cups of coffee a day reduced the risk of a certain mild kind of underactive thyroid, called subclinical hypothyroidism, and drinking between 2-4 cups of the caffeinated drink reduced the levels thyroid stimulating hormones (TSH), indicating that it reduces thyroid activity.

However, the same study goes on to add that “coffee consumption was not associated with the risk of hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.”

CLAIM #2: 

Coffee drinkers have a lower incidence of Thyroid Cancer, than non-drinkers.

FACT: 

Drinking coffee has no effect on the risk of developing thyroid cancer

A significant number of research studies have suggested that drinking coffee reduces the risk of cancer. This protection against cancer could be credited to the presence of polyphenolic antioxidants (polyphenols are powerful antioxidants derived from plants), and anti-inflammatory agents, including Caffeine, Cafestol, Kahweol and Chlorogenic acids.

While an inverse relationship has been reported between drinking coffee and the risk of developing different types of cancers in general, a meta-analysis of the studies available on the effect reveals no significant association, i.e., drinking coffee has no effect on the risk of developing thyroid cancer. 

“There was no significant association between coffee consumption and thyroid cancer risk according to our meta-analysis results. These findings should be interpreted with caution because of potential biases and confounding variables. Further prospective studies with a larger number of cases are encouraged to confirm these results,” it said. 

Also read: FACT CHECK: Does black coffee really dissolve liver fat? Here’s what experts say!