A Cup of Joe

It is more than just sipping coffee.

Over the years, as medical experts and researchers are busy gathering compelling evidences of the side effects of too much intake of coffee in the body system, I seem to evade countless stories of heartburn, anxiety, high blood pressure, hyperactivity and many others that caffeine, a type of drug or stimulant found in coffee beans, appears to be a causal factor. In most nights that I am inside Bo’s café or Star Bucks, while I was still in the Philippines, I please myself many times with the piece of information that caffeine used in moderation is not particularly destructive (i'm too defensive). A magazine article even cited that studies on the harmful health effects from coffee are ultimately coming to a close after there are a number of verified rewards to partaking it in a daily cup or two.

Here are a few I gathered.



1. Coffee drinking may lower your risk of colon cancer by up to 25 percent because of its ability to help keep you regular.
2. Two observational studies found that regular coffee intake reduced the risk of developing kidney stones.
3. People with asthma who drink coffee can have up to 25 percent fewer symptoms because one of the compounds in coffee - theophylline - acts as a bronchodilator.
4. Other diseases that coffee may help prevent: cirrhosis of the liver, Parkinson's disease, skin cancer, and gallstones.

In the October 1999 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, an Israeli researcher detected a calcium increase in brain cells exposed to caffeine. He said caffeine may boost levels of brain-cell calcium, a mineral essential in memory. Alright, I have no medical expertise to substantiate these claims. As a coffee drinker, I only have the impression that coffee has a delightful taste people do not need a white man in robe to inform them what a dose of caffeine could bring in or how a dose benefits them.

For me, an hour or two inside a coffee shop is more than enough. Freshly brewed coffee – unlike latte, cappuccino, espresso, flavored coffee, and other multitude of iced coffee beverages – appeals to me more. Blame it perhaps to the distinctive roasted strong, obviously not bitter, flavor that never fails to excite my taste buds. Blame it to my order of short size mug (in most cases) that sufficiently fills the longing, stimulates the wit and awaken ideas to move like troops of a grand army to a point of becoming so enthusiastic of anything I often miss to notice how time flies so fast inside the café.

But it is more than just sipping brewed coffee. Coffee shop is the place to meeting hard-to-find friends for the much-awaited hangout. In many instances, I was surprised to know lots of secrets leisurely exposed over a cup of coffee. These secrets deal on a love lost and found, new business started, or simply family squabble. Every sip offers a story wonderfully told.

Opps, I stop now. I will tell more stories about coffee sooner. This blog should have been longer; I know I am keeping you excited. Honestly, I have many things in mind to continue blabbing and getting your nod on how coffee could be so beneficial. But as I've said, it will be posted sooner in my future blogs.

Happy drinking coffee!

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