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Jim Magay |
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Coffee became more widely accepted in Europe after it was
"baptized" by Pope Clement VIII in 1600 despite
appeals to ban the Muslim drink. The first European coffee
house opened in Italy in 1645. (Note: it wasn't a Starbucks)
After oil, coffee is the second largest import in the
United States, with U.S. consumers drinking one-fifth of the
world's coffee, making us the largest consumers of coffee in
the world. Coffee is the most widely served beverage. It is
available practically everywhere, including airplanes,
office buildings, train terminals, cafeteria lines, hospital
in-room meal service, hotel rooms, cappuccino carts, etc.
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A popular feature in our store is the waiting room
coffee. If we are slow to get it brewed and put out, our
regulars let us know about it!
So what about coffee? Over the years we've been panicked
by claims that it is bad for us for a variety of health
reasons. Good news! In March the Center for Science in the
Public Interest published a comprehensive appraisal of
scientific reports in its Nutrition Action Health letter. In
part, some of the conclusions researchers found were:
Hydration, Moderate coffee drinking was no more diuretic
than water.
Heart Disease, among 27,000 women followed for 15 years
in the Iowa Women's Health Study, those who drank one to
three cups a day reduced their risk of cardiovascular
disease by 24 percent, although this benefit diminished as
the quantity of coffee rose.
Hypertension, in a study of 155,000 nurses, women who
drank coffee with or without caffeine for a decade were no
more likely to develop hypertension than non-coffee
drinkers. However, a higher risk of hypertension was found
from drinking colas. A Johns Hopkins study that followed
more than 1,000 men for 33 years found that coffee drinking
played little overall role in the development of
hypertension.
Cancer, an international review of 66 studies last year
found coffee drinking had little if any effect on the risk
of developing pancreatic or kidney cancer. In fact, another
review suggested that compared with people who do not drink
coffee, those who do have half the risk of developing liver
cancer.
Diabetes, Another review found that compared with non
coffee drinkers, people who drank four to six cups of coffee
a day, with or without caffeine, had a 28 percent lower risk
of Type 2 diabetes. This benefit probably comes from
coffee's antioxidants and chlorogenic acid.
I could go on but I think you get the point. Coffee is a
miracle, a drug with positive side effects. As the French
say, "a votre santé" (to your health).
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