As I had mentioned in an earlier blog today, the biggest topic of conversation these days is about the virtues of Stevia and how bad coffee is for you. I have talked my head off about Stevia and now back to coffee. How did we get those two confused? I believe the reverse to be true. I may be addicted to coffee but it isn't in the same category health-wise as cigarettes or alcohol. And where would we be without our Second Cup, Starbuck's, Tim Hortons and now even McDonald's? 63% of Canadians drink coffee daily and 81% drink it occasionally. Coffee got its bad rap from older studies but that was when people smoked as a constant companion to coffee and that wasn't taken into consideration.
Now you know how people are weight obsessed these days, well coffee by itself has very few calories and I believe most people are aware of that or there wouldn't be lineups at the numerous coffee establishments all hours of the day. It's the sugar syrups, milks and creams that cancel out coffee's potential benefits. Of course, coffee places have become more than just that. They sell a variety of tasty morsels to go with your coffee like muffins and cookies. (yum). You get comfy seats, you can hold your meetings there and they have wi-fi. In some places you can't find a seat while people sit there with their laptops. That's a bummer. So we buy our coffee then and take it in the car with us.
Coffee has come up clean in recent studies on heart disease. As a matter of fact coffee drinkers appear to have a slightly lower risk of heart attacks or strokes than non-coffee drinkers. Say coffee and you automatically think of caffeine. Caffeine, which occurs naturally in coffee and in food such as chocolate, is a stimulant that speeds up your nervous system. It postpones fatigue and elevates the mood, which is why studies suggest people who regularly consume coffee have less depression than those who don't.
But it is the antioxidants in coffee, not caffeine, which has people really enthused. There is lots of data now that found that women who consumed 4 cups of coffee per day had a 20% reduction in risk for basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer. Another study found a decrease in certain breast cancers in women who drank 5 cups or more a day. There are lots of positive studies out there which says coffee lowers risk on Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and gallstones. Who would have thunk it?
... and lab testing found that coffee has "much more antioxidants than most vegetables and fruits".
So what is coffee's dark side because there is one to almost everything. Well, pregnant women are advised to drink decaf due to chances of miscarriage with caffeine although I must admit I drank coffee through 3 pregancies and they are all here today to talk about it. Of course, if you drink too much it can make you jittery and too restless to sleep. Didn't we all know that? But here is a sobering fact I am not sure I believe: Coffee won't help you sober up.
But try going without your java fix and see what happens. Of course, it is an addiction like smoking and so what????? Go without your regular coffee and you'll feel headachy, tired and edgy. Withdrawal symptoms are easily remedied by a visit to the Second Cup or in my case, when I finish this blog I am heading straight to the kitchen to perk me up with my coffee fix.
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