Love your Lattes? You may be drinking to your good health
Before you toss back that shot of wheatgrass juice, you might want to reconsider. A cup of freshly brewed coffee may be just as good for you, and maybe even better.
The latest research suggests that drinking one to three cups of coffee a day may provide protection from strokes and heart disease. This month's issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reports on a study that followed 27,000 women aged 55 to 69 for 15 years. It found a 30-per-cent reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease among those who drank a moderate amount of coffee. Coffee's main active ingredient is caffeine, of course, but the beverage is also packed with antioxidants, which help the body battle cell-damaging free radicals and reduce inflammation.
The Iowa Women's Health Study said 60 per cent of antioxidants in the diet may come from coffee, a finding corroborated by other researchers. The antioxidants in coffee are polyphenols, which are also found in red wine. Drinking one to three glasses of red wine a day has been linked to a reduced risk of heart disease. On a per serving basis, dates have more antioxidants than either coffee or red wine - as if anyone cares.
The benefits of coffee don't stop there. Japanese researchers found that people who drink coffee regularly had half the liver cancer of abstainers and the Harvard Center of Public Health reported that drinking coffee - six cups a day - cut the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 54 per cent for men and 30 per cent for women.
A study presented last year at the Radiological Society of North America linked coffee drinking to better short term memory. Other studies show that people who drink coffee reduce their risk of Parkinson's disease by 80 per cent, gallstones by 50 per cent and colon cancer by 25 per cent.
Still more studies have associated coffee drinking with controlling asthma, relieving headaches and preventing tooth decay. Oh, did we mention that it might increase the sex drive in women?
Coffee drinking has even been credited with lower suicide rates.
Sure, coffee raises your blood pressure, causes rapid heartbeat, increases nervousness and trembling, and withdrawal can be wicked. But the good seems to outweigh the bad so let's banish the guilt of being coffee lovers and enjoy another cup o’ Joe.