When the sweet poison of the Treacherous Grape
Had acted on the world a general rape; …
Coffee arrives, that grave and wholesome Liquor
That heals the stomach and makes the genius quicker.
Had your second cup of coffee yet this morning? Don’t worry, I’ll wait, because it (that cup) is important . . .
All set? Then here’s your news: Every cup of coffee is good for you.
Even better: There’s very little evidence that any cup is bad for you.
Harvard researchers have been putting the hot drink brewed from the noble bean under the microscope, and have confirmed it to be one of humanity’s greatest boons, and confirmed “no link between higher blood pressure and coffee and … some suggestion that it improved blood pressure.”
The work at Harvard is just part of an emerging picture of coffee consumption as a potentially powerful elixir against a range of ailments, from cancer to cavities….
- lowers levels of liver enzymes and protects the liver against cancer and cirrhosis
- protects against Parkinson’s disease… four or five cups of coffee daily cut disease risk nearly in half compared with little or no caffeine.
- reduced risk of suicide
- lower risk of basal cell carcinoma
- reduced type 2 diabetes risk
- lower risk of a deadly form of prostate cancer for men
- drinking four or more cups a day lowered the rate of depression among women; and
- even heavy coffee consumption did not increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and that three to five cups of coffee daily provided the most protection against cardiovascular disease.
In short, for “a coffee-drinker compared to non-drinker there is about a 10-15% lower mortality rate.”
Not only that, but coffee helps you think better. What’s not to love!
Yes, these data are mainly correlative rather than causative -- “though the links between coffee and better health have become considerably clearer, what exactly confers the benefit remains murky,” although researchers have “traced coffee’s fingerprints to the human genome, discovering six new genes related to coffee consumption and reconfirming two others found earlier”—but they are compelling.
And one result you can test immediately all on your own: “That first cup of coffee in the morning is happiness,” says one researcher. “It’s a real joy.”
Your third isn’t so bad either.
RELATED POSTS:
- Coffee: It’s All Good
- Coffee fuelled the Age of Enlightenment
- Coffee, cigarettes and freedom from oppression
- 'Making the Genius Quicker': A Complete Hiftory of Man According to Hif Divers Delightf (Part Two)
[Hat tip Anoop Verma & Paul Hsieh]
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