Good News and More Good News About Coffee

I wake up frequently at night.  Before I head for the bathroom, I look at the watch on my bed stand.  The quick glance is not to tell me how long it has been since my last journey, but how much more time must elapse before I get to drink my first cup of coffee of the day. 

My day always begins with a cup of coffee.  An hour later, I am ready to have a second cup. My third is consumed by mid-day – if not sooner.

I always believed that drinking coffee was bad for me.  First and foremost, there were the tedious trips to the bathroom.  The embarrassing urge to relieve yourself always comes at the worst possible time, when the only bathroom on the outing is under lock or during a  meal with a (much younger) date that you desperately want to impress with your health status. 

I figured, that coffee – at least in laboratory mice – increased the muscles in the diaphragm (which allows us to breathe) and in the legs (which need to be strong, if we are not to fall), so I allowed myself this liquid treat.  This knowledge overwhelmed the fact that because it is a diuretic, the caffeine in coffee has the propensity to make your skin appear aged.  When you lack water, your skin begins to look like a dried prune.  But having strong muscles is more important (at least to me) than having good skin.

But no longer do I regret drinking five cups of coffee per day.  I now I drink coffee with abandon.  There are, it was reported recently, health benefits to drinking coffee – at least two cups of the java elixir

The study comes out of the medical school affiliated with Stanford University.  It found remarkable side-effects for individuals who imbibed coffee.  For example, coffee keeps the heart vessels clear.  It also reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes. 

But most importantly it lowered the level of inflammation, the main culprit in many diseases associated with getting older.  Certain types of cancer and joint disorders were held in check.  Coffee was also shown to stave off the onset of Alzheimer’s.  I now proudly exhibit my Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts apps on my phone. It is an opportunity to display my newly found knowledge supported by reputable research.

If they could only find health benefits to eating steak a few times a week.  I can dream, can’t I?   At least when I am not awakened by the need to run to the bathroom.