I've already written what I know about the health benefits of drinking coffee and tea as well as green tea for dieting and coffee health, but I feel compelled to revisit the subject because of all the new reports I'm reading.

Coffee, Tea and Diabetes

Researchers don't know what the ingredient is, but say there may something in coffee that reduces the risk for type 2 diabetes in women by almost 50 percent. They also don't know why drinking coffee may reduce the likelihood of abnormal heart rhythms.

Studies of people who drink tea came to the same conclusions. I'll tell you what I think of all this near the end.

Coffee and Strokes

The incidents of strokes in older people have been declining and part of it may be attributed to older people drinking coffee. Studies show that people who drink coffee were 29 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Of course, that doesn't take into consideration what causes strokes in the first place.

No Bed of Roses

It's not all good news and I have my own thoughts about some of this. I would call these studies anything but an exact science. One study shows only moderate links between the increased risk of hypertension and caffeine consumption and advises anyone concerned about their blood pressure to reduce their coffee consumption. I guess it's a "damned if you do and damned if you don't" kind of situation.

Personally, I think the studies are missing the point. People that drink coffee and tea aren't drinking a lot of the other beverages, like carbonated beverages, alcoholic beverages and other kinds of flavored drinks. I think the positive results are based on what people are NOT drinking as opposed to what they are.

News Sources:

• Grab a cup of heart-friendly coffee
• Study: Coffee, Tea Can Lower Diabetes Risk
• Surprising Stroke Findings

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• What Effect does Coffee have on Alcohol Consumption?
• The Coffee Franchises are Here to Stay
• Health Benefits of Drinking Coffee and Tea
• A Possible Switch to Decaffeinated Coffee
• Coffee and Your Health – Good to the Last Drop

I usually don't follow a nationally syndicated newspaper column to its source, but this time I did. After reading a blurb, "Have a Java", I felt compelled to do so. A few hours later, I responded to a comment on that post about coffee and GERD (acid reflux disease) and I'll expound on that in a minute.

Coffee May be Good for You

I was pointed to "Coffee won't hurt you, research finds", followed it back to the first newspaper referenced and then finally to the author's own website where she had written "Good to the last drop" (an old Maxwell House slogan).

With decades of journalism experience and more than 50 journalism awards, I trust that Judy Foreman is a responsible journalist. According to her sources, the coffee and caffeine parts of the coffee beverage can be examined independently of each other and each has its own attributes. The coffee part can be beneficial for some things while the caffeine part can be beneficial for others.

The research, although not completely conclusive, is mostly positive. It indicates that coffee itself lowers the risks for type 2 diabetes and liver cancer. Although it can't be determined whether it's the coffee or the caffeine, coffee seems to protect the liver against cirrhosis, especially cirrhosis caused by alcoholism (although telling someone to drink more coffee is NOT how to help an alcoholic).

The caffeine part appears to lower the risk of Parkinson's Disease, but not for women who use post-menopausal hormones. For athletes, studies suggest it helps muscles release calcium, allowing muscles to contract with more force. In both cases, only a single cup of coffee per day is needed to show a measurable improvement.

The Vinegar Trick

The commenter (MacBros) said he doesn't drink much coffee because he suffers from GERD (acid reflux disease). I pointed out that I haven't suffered from acid reflux symptoms since 2006 as I wrote in my heartburn and vinegar article in 2007. That particular article isn't very long and you may want to take a minute to read it even if you only suffer from a mild form of acid reflux. I won't repeat it here.

I hope MacBros (his real name is John) takes care of his own acid reflux problem so he can enjoy drinking coffee as much as I do.

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