Have a cup, it's OK, really

Coffee has always been a guilty pleasure for me. I drink a lot of it, but I do so knowing that it might not be especially good for me. In particular, I have harbored a suspicion that it’s causing some pesky cysts.

So imagine my surprise when I began to research this story and discovered that medical experts now say coffee is not only non-lethal, it actually has significant health benefits.

Years ago, coffee was said to cause cancers and heart disease. But studies over the last two decades conducted by, among others, Harvard Medical School (and reported as reliable by sources including the Mayo Clinic and Journal of the American Medical Association), contradicted those early findings. It turned out that one reason so many coffee drinkers got those diseases was because they also tended to be heavy smokers who didn’t eat right and who didn’t exercise.

Newer studies have found that coffee (in moderation — defined as about three cups a day) not only does the obvious things, such as improve short-term performance in athletics and reduce the bite of headaches; it’s also said that coffee drinkers are less likely to get type 2 diabetes and liver and colon cancer and are less likely to develop gallstones. It’s also been found that people who drink about three cups a day are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.

And here’s a curious fact: Some research has indicated that people who are heavy smokers and drinkers are actually  less likely to suffer from heart disease or get liver cancer if they drink a few cups a day.

This is cause for celebration. But celebration in moderation, of course. Don’t go wild and start drinking a pot a day; three cups is plenty (especially if they’re big cups, like the kind I get at the gas station every morning).

So the next question is whether there are qualitative differences between types of coffee and styles of brewing and what you serve it with.

The first obvious answer is: drink it black. The more cream and sugar you add, the more calories, fats and useless carbs you add. Having said that, I plan to continue lightening my brew with a little swizzle every day of whole milk. By the way, don’t kid yourself into thinking that the milk in your coffee has health benefits. Coffee might be healthy in many ways, but it is still believed to block your body’s ability to absorb calcium.

As for the differences in brewing styles and the beans themselves, well, I haven’t got the definitive answer on that one yet. Look for it in future columns.

Latest News

Water main cleaning in North Canaan

NORTH CANAAN – Aquarion Water Company today announced a water main cleaning project in the company’s North Canaan system. The project is scheduled to take place from Monday, April 1 through Tuesday, April 16, and is being undertaken to ensure customers in North Canaan continue to receive the highest quality water.

The cleaning for April 1 and April 4 (subject to change) will take place on the following streets:

Keep ReadingShow less
Tuning up two passions under one roof

The Webb Family in the workshop. From left: Phyllis, Dale, Ben and Josh Webb, and project manager Hannah Schiffer.

Natalia Zukerman

Magic Fluke Ukulele Shop and True Wheels Bicycle Shop are not only under the same roof in a beautiful solar powered building on Route 7 in Sheffield, but they are also both run by the Webb family, telling a tale of familial passion, innovation and a steadfast commitment to sustainability.

In the late ‘90s, Dale Webb was working in engineering and product design at a corporate job. “I took up instrument manufacturing as a fun challenge,” said Dale. After an exhibit at The National Association of Music Merchants in Anaheim, California, in 1999, The Magic Fluke company was born. “We were casting finger boards and gluing these things together in our basement in New Hartford and it just took off,” Dale explained. “It was really a wild ride, it kind of had a life of its own.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Robert Cray’s soulful blues coming to Infinity Hall

Robert Cray

Photo provided

Blues legend Robert Cray will be bringing his stinging, funky guitar and soulful singing to Infinity Hall Norfolk on Friday, March 29.

A five-time Grammy winner, Cray has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned The Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance. He has played with blues and rock icons including Albert Collins, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, The Rolling Stones, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton and many more.

Keep ReadingShow less