IS COFFEE GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH OR NOT?

But first, tidbits about Juneteenth (today is a national holiday, and tomorrow will be the first day of summer) and the Israel-Iran War.

• Time magazine agrees with my Tuesday posting that, Juneteenth or not, the struggle for civil rights still continues.

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  President Donald Trump has said his decision to join Israel on strikes against Iran will wait for two weeks.

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  He says Iran needs some time to decide for itself if it really wants to be decimated.  Fat chance that they will agree to stop trying to become a nuclear power.  And, by the way, there are now nine of them:  US, Russia, China, France, UK, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea.

• 
  The Gerald Ford Task Force has not left Norfolk, Virginia yet, and will probably arrive in the Mediterranean in just about two weeks.

• 
  Trump seems to be facing some MAGA backlash.  Important elements don't want to join a foreign war.  Yet, most probably would also like to see Iran drop their nuclear ambitions. 

• 
  His solution will be, I suspect, to allow use of B-2s to drop bunker-buster bombs on a couple of nuclear sites, and satisfy his internal opposition with something like...there will be no American boots on the ground in Iran.  Israel has the capability to, with supreme air superiority, send teams to finish the work.  
• 
  Middle East countries will mouth some resistance, but internally be relieved, while even European leaders will, in private, agree to this scenario.  Russia?  China?  The former has been surprisingly subdued, while the latter has made an effort to serve as another peacemaker.
• This is most unusual, but it seems like Time has already provided the cover of it's 7July2025 issue.

Well so much for end of humanity stuff.  On Thursdays these days I tend to focus on nutrition and health.  I regularly post on food items like butter, caviar, truffles, sashimi and the like because I like them.  I have never regularly drunk coffee.  Here are 8 reasons why you should never drink coffee.  By Kaitlyn Menza.

• 
  It tastes like evil.  For one, it is bitter.
• It's bad for you.
• Surely, caffeine can't be good for your body.
• Then people add sugar and cream, both toxins.

• 
  You can get addicted.  A drug?
• Most coffee comes from countries with no child labor laws.  Then there are trade wars and price fixing.
• Many grumble-grumble-grumble in the morning until they've had their fix.
• Coffee makes everyone pretentious.
• Gives funky breath.
• The discarded Starbucks (and other outlets) cups, lids, sugar packet, whatever....destroy the environment.

Frankly, I've never been that negative about coffee, although I can add that coffee does affect my sleep pattern.  What never got me started on coffee was that the medical profession for most of my life worried about the addictive nature, placing it in the same boat as alcohol and tobacco.

• Then, for most of my life, there were concerns about cardiovascular risks.
• In the early 1980s came the scare of pancreatic cancer caused by coffee.  This was never confirmed.

• 
  The wine and spirit industry has been accused of flouting exaggerated benefits to health of their products.  Has the coffee industry also played this game?  Of course.

• 
  Whatever, into the later 20th century, and especially during the past two decades, research seems to now show anticarcinogenic effects,  protective role of coffee against liver damage, minimization of heart problems, and this potion actually reducing the chances of Parkinson's disease, cognitive decline, Alzheimer's disease and type 2 diabetes.  

• 
  Coffee has become what snake oil purported to do, and more.  There is a coffee company by that name.
• Yesterday I read that Tufts University said drinking one to three cups of caffeinated coffee daily will prolong your life.  But leave out the sugar and cream.

• 
  The key is moderation.  In fact from the European Heart Journal of a Tulane study comes the recommendation that morning coffee may protect the heart better than all-day coffee drinking.
• A Massive New Harvard Study Says This Is What Happens to Women Who Drink Coffee Every Day.  Men can't be all that different from them.
• Tracked 47,513 women, 3,706 of them since 1984, and in this group, those who drank at least one cup of coffee/day got stronger, mentally sharper and healthier as they grew older.  More so, kind of a contradiction to some studies, but health improved for those who drank more coffee, between 2-5% better for each cup, up to five, or a total of 8 ounces/day.
• Drinking decaffeinated coffee or tea did not help.
• Soda with caffeine was worse than drinking no coffee.  In fact, every 12-ounce soda/day dropped benefits from 20-26%.

The above information is here and there contradictory.

• The Tulane study (in the European journal) showed that morning coffee was sufficient, and drinking coffee all day was not as effective.
• In general, though, the more coffee you drink, up to five cups was a good maximum.
• People determine how much coffee to drink by the standard of a cup.  But this cup is not standard, and can be confusing.
• Get this:  a cup of coffee in most standard drip coffee machines is typically 5 fluid ounces.  Although 6 fluid ounces is mentioned, too.  
• However, the standard U.S. measuring cup holds 8 fluid ounces.
• From this source, 1 tablespoon of coffee makes one cup of coffee.
• A 6-ounce cup of brewed coffee has 0.38 ounce of coffee beans.  
• There are 2 tablespoons of ground coffee beans per 6 ounces of water.
• Or, as the FDA cites 400 milligrams of coffee max/day, this is the equivalent of about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee.
• Using the 6-ounce cup, the ideal amount of coffee should be around 6.5 cups per day, or four 8-ounce cups/day.  
• Most ceramic coffee mugs hold between 8 and 12 fluid ounces of coffee.
• You too should by now be confused.

In any case, I should now drink more coffee, but stop by lunchtime, for coffee can keep me from sleeping.

• Caffeine promotes wakefulness by blocking adenosine, a sleep-inducing chemical.
• Sensitivity to caffeine varies among individuals and depends on how often it is consumed.
• Avoid caffeine at least 8 hours before bedtime to ensure better sleep quality.
• Reduce your daily caffeine intake if you notice insomnia, anxiety, or headaches.
• Tea has half the caffeine of coffee.

Speaking of tea, for a while in the past, this brew was more highly recommended than coffee.  What happened?

• Studies showed that coffee was better.  From the Washington Post.

In this battle over health benefits, coffee comes out on top. Coffee drinkers can raise a mug to fiber, microbiome health and lowering risk for cancer and diabetes. But tea drinkers, do not despair. Tea is undoubtedly good for your blood pressure, cholesterol, stress levels, mental health and productivity. And both drinks are winners when it comes to heart health and longevity. And for tea, especially, there are likely more health benefits that are yet to be discovered.

• 
  Worldwide, three times more tea is drunk than coffee.  Why?
• Coffee has become more popular only more recently.
• Tea, especially in Asia and the UK, has been around a lot longer.  Further, there are more people in Asia than anywhere else.  India and China are by far have the most people.
• The most popular drink, though, is water.
• Read this article for details.  An excellent summary.

Tropical Storm Erick just off Mexico became a hurricane at 75 MPH on Wednesday at 12 GMT, then zoomed up to 145 MPH, a category 4, at 06 GMT today.  Made landfall over Oaxaca, Mexico at 125 MPH soon after 5AM local time, and is now a tropical depression just north of Acapulco.  This is the first Category 3 hurricane ever to strike Mexico in the month of June.

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