Singin’ the Praises of Coffee
Coffee, Tea and She
I know I’ve been singin’ the praises of coffee a lot lately (Daily Doses, 8/19, 9/13, and 12/9/2005), but what can I say
When it reigns (coffee), it pours (in the news).
And the hits just keep on coming, too. A pair of items in the news over the last few weeks proves yet again that one of my favorite beverages – a steaming hot Cuppa Joe – is the tonic of life most drugs and so-called “health foods” WISH they were. Here’s the latest scoop:
According to a recent Reuters online article, of the two types of coffee (caffeinated and decaffeinated), the high-octane, full-strength version is associated with LOWER levels of LDL “bad” cholesterol than its neutered brother beverage. This is good news for folks who’ve been going without all the other benefits of caffeine consumption – like sharper mental acuity, greater alertness, and less stress – under the misguided belief that decaf is better for your heart.
Now, whether or not low levels of LDL in the blood is truly a boon to your heart is a matter open to debate. But I digress
As if this weren’t enough “grounds” for joy, the January issue of the Journal of Nutrition published a study showing that the consumption of full-strength, caffeinated coffee was linked to a 40% reduction in the risk of breast cancer among pre-menopausal women when compared to decaffeinated varieties, which had no measurable decrease in risk.
Hmm. Looks like it isn’t just the hefty dose of antioxidants in coffee that translates into a reduction in cancer risk. Mainstream-maligned caffeine clearly helps a bit too.
This comes on the heals of reports I’ve shared with you in the recent past that coffee reduces risk of colon and liver cancers, diabetes, Parkinson’s and more. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now: Coffee is the best thing you can drink in large quantities every day for better health (except raw milk, of course). As much as 6 cups a day can do most folks nothing but good, and brewing it into coffee is the VERY BEST thing you can do to make ordinary water healthy for you.
But hold the phone – rich, dark java isn’t the ONLY caffeinated beverage that’s good for the body and mind (especially if you’re a woman). Keep reading
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Tea’s in – no teasin’
Ladies, want to brew up some cancer resistance, but don’t like coffee? Start soaking those teabags in hot water (preferably fluoride-free)
According to this past December 26th’s issue of the journal Archives of Internal Medicine, a massive study conducted by scientists from Sweden’s National Institute of Environmental Medicine found that women who drank at least 2 glasses of green OR black tea every day slashed their risk of ovarian cancer by 46%!
Those who drank only one cup per day still managed a 24% reduction in risk.
The research, which followed a group or more than 61,000 women aged 40 to 76, also determined that each additional cup of tea consumed per day (beyond 2 cups) brought with it an additional 18% reduction in the risk of this common cancer of both pre- and post-menopausal women
Although dozens of studies have catalogued tea’s health benefits, this massive Swedish study is one of only a few in existence that have examined the relationship between tea consumption and ovarian cancer, according to the researchers.
Of course, one study does not a medical fact make, but it sounds encouraging, doesn’t it?
Always brewing up “grounds” for celebration,
William Campbell Douglass II, MD
