The Great Buzz on Coffee

Move over green tea. A cuppa joe — actually several cuppas — are now being touted as another hot beverage with highly beneficial health properties.

According to the New York Times, a number of recent studies suggest that coffee can help stave off several serious ailments, including diabetes, heart disease and cirrhosis of the liver. It may also reduce the risk of developing gallstones, kidney stones and colorectal cancer.

A big daily dose of java cut women's risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. Researchers found that people who drank four to six cups of coffee a day had a 28 percent reduced risk — but people who drank more than six cups reduced their risk by about 35 percent. In other words, getting wired is good for you.

Actually, researchers think that coffee's power have more to do with antioxidants, than caffeine. Coffee contains powerful antioxidant chemicals similar to those found in berries and grapes. One key may be chlorogenic acid, which is abundant in red wine and chocolate and seems to be able to slow the absorption of sugar by cells, according to some early studies.

This conflicts a bit with previous studies, such as this one published earlier this year in The Journal of the American College of Cardiology, suggest that caffeine still poses risks. It can significantly decreases blood flow to the heart, increase blood pressure and may slightly raise the risk for heart disease.

Still, I'll add an extra shot in my future lattes.