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| The New Health Drink -- Coffee!
Well, we looked on the Internet and other places to see just what the experts are saying about coffee and its impact on our health. First, the respected WebMD had quite a bit to say about the new health food...coffee. In an article by Sid Kirchheimer, WebMD wrote the following:
Want a drug that could lower your risk of diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and colon cancer? That could lift your mood and treat headaches? That could lower your risk of cavities? If it sounds too good to be true, think again. Coffee, the much maligned but undoubtedly beloved beverage, just made headlines for possibly cutting the risk of the latest disease epidemic, type 2 diabetes. And the real news seems to be that the more you drink, the better.
They went on to say...After analyzing data on 126,000 people for as long as 18 years, Harvard researchers calculate that compared with not partaking in America's favorite morning drink, downing one to three cups of caffeine coffee daily can reduce diabetes risk by single digits. But having six cups or more each day slashed men's risk by 54% and women's by 30% over java avoiders.
"Overall, the research shows that coffee is far more healthful than is harmful," says Tomas DePaulis, PhD, research scientist at Vanderbilt University's Institute for Coffee Studies, which conducts its own medical research and tracks coffee studies from around the world. "For most people, very little bad comes from drinking it, but a lot of good."
The Wall Street Journal in its December 30, 2009, stated, "To judge by recent headlines, coffee could be the latest health-food craze, right up there with broccoli and whole wheat bread." The Street went on to state that during December 2009 alone, an analysis in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that people who drink three to four cups of java a day are 25% less likely to develop; Type 2 diabetes than those who drink fewer than two cups. And a study presented at an American Association for Cancer Research meeting found that men who drink at least six cups a day have a 60% lower risk of developing advanced prostate cancer than those who didn't drink any.
The New York Times stated: Some studies show that cardiovascular risk also decreases with coffee consumption. Using data on more than 27,000 women ages 55 to 69 in the Iowa Women's Health Study who were followed for 15 years, Norwegian researchers found that women who drank one to three cups a day reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 24 percent compared with those drinking no coffee at all.
But as the quantity increased, the benefit decreased. At more than six cups a day, the risk was not significantly reduced. Still, after controlling for age, smoking and alcohol consumption, women who drank one to five cups a day - caffeinated or decaffeinated - reduced their risk of death from all causes during the study by 15 to 19 percent compared with those who drank none.
The findings, which appeared in May in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest that antioxidants in coffee may dampen inflammation, reducing the risk of disorders related to it, like cardiovascular disease. Several compounds in coffee may contribute to its antioxidant capacity, including phenols, volatile aroma compounds and oxazoles that are efficiently absorbed.
In another analysis, published in July in the same journal, researchers found that a typical serving of coffee contains more antioxidants than typical servings of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges.
"We were surprised to learn that coffee quantitatively is the major contributor of antioxidants in the diet both in Norway and in the U.S.A.," said Rune Blomhoff, the senior author of both studies and a professor of nutrition at the University of Oslo.
Now even Oprah and her mag had this to add...Coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet, according to a 2005 University of Scranton study, exceeding wine, chocolate, tea, fruits, and vegetables. Antioxidants may help prevent diseases such as heart disease and cancer.
Research from 2006 involving more than 27,000 women indicates that one to three cups of coffee daily can lower the risk of cardiovascular disease. And a 2005 study of more than 90,000 people in Japan found that daily coffee drinkers had half the rate of liver cancer when compared with less frequent consumers.
Surprisingly, coffee contains a high level of soluble dietary fiber-more than other beverages like wine or orange juice. That may explain why a 2002 study of nearly 81,000 women found that those who drank four or more cups a day had about a 25 percent lower risk of gallstones than nondrinkers.
Well that is what I have been reading lately...haven't you? Coffee, especially fresh roasted coffee, is high in antioxidants and can provide a much needed lift to your life. That is a great plus for the coffee industry to promote, especially a company like The Alpaca Bean Coffee Company.
Now, after presenting all this info, how can we say that we want you to look at this beverage and decide for yourself about its value. From this end, we feel that coffee drank in moderation (and we must leave the definition of that up to you), probably does provide a benefit to the lives of coffee drinkers. Now, like most anything else, coffee drank in excess probably does have a harmful impact on some folks. If your doctor has said for you not to drink caffeine, then you do not want to chance a major problem on what you have just read. The bottom line for most folks is...if you do not go crazy, and if you look out into the alpaca pasture and do not envision that your alpacas are pronking in a conga line instead of sunning in the noon day sun...then you probably are doing ok with this coffee adventure and the amount of consumption you have established.
The main thing to remember...given the times in which we are living...enjoy a good mug of The Alpaca Bean Coffee this morning...maybe even a couple of mugs, if you are so inclined...but never, never settle for a bad cup of coffee when you can lift a mug of Peruvian Especial, or Bodacious Bolivian...life is too short for that! Now THAT is a fact I can stand behind!!
The Coffeeman
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On A Personal Note...
Taking a chance in deep water...
You know when you are a mere child, especially one that may not be the smartest cookie in the jar, you take chances that some would not take. That was me in the summer of my sixth year. You see my family had been out back in our own "private" lake, Jackson Lake - or Lake Jackson as it is now called, having a good ol' time. My brother, Roy, and I diving off the skeleton of a boat house into deep water. Roy, diving and swimming to the bank, and me, diving and having an adult grab me 'cause I could not really swim at the time. We had a ball! Such a ball that later in the day I returned to that almost boat house, climbed to the top, and dived in...only problem, there was no adult there to haul me out. It was swim or not see my sixth birthday coming up in around three months! Well, somehow my will took over and I made it back to the bank and safety...I learned something that day about determination...dumb way to learn, but learn I did! ;o)
About a month later, since now I was quite the swimmer - or so I thought, I was diving off the front dock with Roy. Now that was something, until I took in some water and paniced...only to be saved by my big bro. I almost took him to his watery grave, but somehow he got me to the ladder on the dock. Never did thank him enough for that show of bravery! I learned something that day about humility...another dumb way to learn, but learn I did, again!
That fateful summer taught me, and my brother and sisters, quite a bit about life, about each other, and about all things human. You know we do not have control of what we consider everyday sometimes, nor especially those things that occur on a rare and sometimes special occasion. We also learned that if you do not reach for more than is expected from you, well you do not fully realize what life has to offer. At the same time, we found out that rules are there to guide us, to protect and nurture us even. We found that if we trusted ourselves enough, and trusted each other, we could do almost anything!
That summer led me much later to taking a chance with that cute girl holding a big ol' snake along side of the tennis court where a college friend and I were attempting to play...it led me to risking everything about myself by asking that same snake handler to marry me...and it led to many, many happy years (with the hope of many more) with the love of my life. That summer also gave me the inner strength to take another chance (more recently) when my life's love told me we should "retire" and go into alpaca farming! That of course has led to another fantastic "retirement" activity - The Alpaca Bean Coffee Co...and given me this opportunity to share a bit of how a summer so many years ago, put me on this path.
What does all this mean to the universe in general? Probably not much...or as some would say, "Won't amount to a hill of beans!" But it amounted to a full life on this end, and a blessed one at that! I just offer one piece of advice from my viewpoint...take a look at what you really want, what is best for you, your family, your work for the Lord, and jump on any and all chances to make it happen...you will be very, very happy that you did!
Peace,
The Coffeeman
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