Latte from my 2009 post on Taste Cafe (now George Howell Coffee)
I knew it. Coffee is my favorite food. Now comes science to support my natural desire. Thank you, Lindsay Abrams, for "The Case for Drinking as Much Coffee as You Like" in The Atlantic. She's reporting on research just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (credit due to Harvard School of Public
Health Department of Nutrition Research Fellow Shilpa Bhupathiraju, the study's lead author).
As we joe-vistas believed, coffee seems to be right up there with blueberries and broccoli. Some clips from Abrams's article:
- "8 percent decrease in the risk of type 2 diabetes in women. In men, the reduction was 4 percent for regular coffee and 7 percent for decaf."
- "An inverse association between habitual, moderate consumption and risk of heart failure" [the benefit appeared to peak at 10 cups per day]
- "Caffeine might also function as a pain reliever."
- Depression! "While a small study this month found that concentrated amounts of caffeine can increase positivity in the moment, last September the nurses' cohort demonstrated a neat reduction in depression rates among women that became stronger with increased consumption of caffeinated coffee."
- And this: "So aside from caffeine, just what are you getting in a cup, or two, or six? Thousands of mostly understudied chemicals that contribute to flavor and aroma, including plant phenols, chlorogenic acids, and quinides, all of which function as antioxidents. Diterpenoids in unfiltered coffee may raise good cholesterol and lower bad cholesterol. "
Best nutritional news I've heard in a long time. Now I'm waiting for the study proving how beneficial my second most favorite food is: salt.
But excuse me for the moment. I'm going to brew my third cup of the day.
