Caffeine causes birth defects ... or does it?

[unixronin]

A New Scientist article (available online to subscribers only) talks about caffeine and health effects, and in so doing, raises a broader question.

Perhaps the most notorious study came in 1980 when Thomas Collins of the US Food and Drug Administration linked caffeine to birth defects in rats.  The study sent shock waves through the drinks industry and led the FDA to warn pregnant women to cut down on coffee and tea.

In the study, Collins gave pregnant rats enormous doses of caffeine, equivalent to 200 cups of coffee or tea in one gulp, via tubes inserted down their throats.

The problem with this, of course, is that nobody drinks 200 cups of coffee at once....

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