Reasons to {heart} coffee
Good coffee, nice cup by Greg7
A New York Times article debunks some of the myths about/against coffee. I equate coffee with caffeine here because in my book, coffee is useless without the drug. Decaffeinated coffee is loathsome, while Coke and other soft drinks are cop-outs. And no, don’t even suggest Kopiko. I go for old-fashioned brewed coffee with sugar. The fanciest stuff I buy at Starbucks or any of those boutique coffee houses is either latte or cappuccino, and if I didn’t have enough sleep the previous night, then it’s a tall coffee of the day for me.
So here be some coffee myth busting:
- Coffee is a diuretic, but only if it contains more than 575 milligrams of caffeine. That’s more than what 1 Starbucks grande contains.
- Coffee does not increase the risk of heart disease. In fact, drinking one to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease.
- Coffee only induces a small, temporary rise in blood pressure. Emphasis on “small, temporary.”
- Coffee does not increase the risk of either pancreatic or liver cancer. One study found that compared to those who do not drink coffee, coffee drinkers’ risk of having liver cancer is cut by half.
- Coffee does not make you thin even if caffeine helps you burn an extra 75 to 100 calories a day. This also means you should stay away from the 650-calorie mocha frappuccino. Just because it’s liquid doesn’t mean it doesn’t make you fat.
- Coffee does not cause osteoporosis. Even if you lose up to 5 milligrams of calcium for every 6 ounces of coffee, you can replace it by adding 2tbsps of milk to your coffee. I hate adding milk to my coffee, but I guess that’s what ice cream or a bowl of cereal with milk is for.
- Coffee makes you happy. Consuming up to 200 milligrams of caffeine allows you to have an “improved sense of well-being, happiness, energy, alertness and sociability,” said Roland Griffiths of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.” However, having too much caffeine in your system causes you to be easily frazzled or have stomach discomfort. Ewww.
- Coffee makes you alert, therefore…
- Coffee makes you smart because it helps you concentrate or maintain attention, have better memory, and perform complex tasks.
- Coffee helps your performance in aerobic activities.
- Roger Federer drinks coffee.
I’m not 100% sure about this one, He confirmed it, and heck–I’ll [still] drink anything he’ll serve me.
Additional reading:
