There is an article in the March 2007 issue of
Cooking Light ("Healthy Perks," pg 50) that suggests that caffeine and coffee may not be as bad for us as was once believed. According to the article, the beneficial effects of caffeine include:
- Increased alertness and better mood
- Improved athletic performance
- Headache control
- Enhanced reasoning skills
- Possible prevention of Parkinson's Disease (at least in men)
In addition, coffee (decaf or regular) may help protect against type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease (at least in women). Even more interesting, the article says that caffeine is not dehydrating or a diurectic, as is commonly believed. Instead people that drink lots of coffee have an increased urge to pee simply because of they are drinking more fluids.
I normally only drink about 1 cup of decaf per day, but in social situations I often use coffee to keep me from eating. Setting aside all scientific studies, etc., I figure that when it comes down to it, a cup of coffee is better than a brownie.
And I'm a big believer in drugs
; I take Ibuprofen for all sorts of aches and pains, along with allergy medications and birth control. I even drink the occasional glass of alcohol.
So I'm not sure I buy the argument that you shouldn't drink coffee because it is a drug. Not all drugs are bad for you.
It is worth mentioning that a tall (12 oz) Starbucks coffee has anywhere from 2 to 6 times the amount of caffeine in normal brewed coffee. They make their coffee ridiculously strong.
I have a friend that used to work there and they seriously use at least twice as many beans as is normally used to brew coffee. So you might want to buy your own coffee maker and go a little easy on the Starbucks coffee or you'll probably find yourself pretty hyper
(and it could interfere with your ability to sleep). Also, you might want to stay away from the lattes, etc., except as an occasional treat
The lowest calorie latte is a tall, NF, SF cinnamon dolce and even that has 90 calories. Everything else just gets worse from there, on up to 300 or possibly 400 calories per drink. Also, the lattes have barely any espresso in them; they are basically just warm flavored milk. People think they are getting a boost of caffeine with a latte but the fact is that a Starbuck's tall latte has only 1/5 to 1/2 the amount of caffeine in a cup or normal brewed coffee.
A good alternative to a latte is to ask Starbucks to put 1 to 2 pumps of sugar-free syrup in a cup of reg or decaf coffee and then add a little skim milk to it (and artificial sweetener if it's not sweet enough for you).