So, after just a single cup of coffee, as a food writer — the person on the receiving end of every possible health benefit press release known to humankind — it’s my job to help sort through these studies and figure out what we should believe and what should get thrown in the compost with the coffee grounds and that spaghetti squash you promised yourself you’d eat before it rotted. In doing this, I’ve learned there are a few signs that you shouldn’t listen to a study. First, take it with a grain of salt (or a bean of coffee) if it’s paid for by the industry. (“Lion bites don’t hurt, roars local lion.”) Will the person who paid for the study likely benefit from the result? They probably set out to prove just that — see the “Gatorade Sports Science Institute” research finding Gatorade is better than water for exercise — and science can find a way to prove almost anything. Second, there’s a lot of terrible methodology: for many years, coffee was linked to lung cancer , but it turns out that may have been a result of heavy coffee drinkers being more likely to smoke. Companies like when people are confused about health or nutrition of food, though: that’s how they can separate you from your money. The back and forth of health benefits, in many cases isn’t a bug, it’s a feature.