Coffee's Perks: Studies Find 5 Health Benefits

Normally if there is some food or drink that I enjoy, I see all kinds of reasons why the product should not be consumed.  I do enjoy my coffee though and was elated to see that there are reasons and health benefits to consuming coffee.

1. Protects against breast cancer

Women who drink five or more cups of coffee a day are 57 percent less likely to develop estrogen receptor-negative breast cancer than women who drink less than a cup a day, according to a study published this month in the journal Breast Cancer Research.

In this study of 2,818 women with breast cancer and 3,111 women without, researchers found that coffee seemed to protect against only this particular kind of breast cancer, and not estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer or triple negative breast cancer.

2. Wards off stroke

Drinking at least one cup of coffee a day could ward off stroke, according to a study published in March in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Swedish researchers analyzed the coffee-drinking habits and health histories of 34,670 women for 10 years, and found that women who drank one or more cups of coffee a day were 25 percent less likely to have a stroke than the women who drank less than a cup of coffee a day.

Even though the finding was in women, researchers said coffee would likely have the same effect for men, too.

3. Reduces risk of diabetes

Having four cups of coffee a day can slash a woman's risk of Type 2 diabetes by 56 percent, according to a study published in January in the journal Diabetes.

In the study of 359 women with diabetes and 359 healthy women, researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles, found that the more coffee the women drank, the less likely they were to have diabetes.

The effect likely has to do with coffee's ability to raise levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) in the blood. High blood levels of SHBG are associated with a decreased risk of Type 2 diabetes, according to the study.

4. Improves brain function

Coffee can also improve brain function in mice, according to a 2010 study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

In that study, researchers gave caffeinated coffee to mice that were engineered to develop Alzheimer's disease. The mice that were given coffee either had the disease progression slow, or the disease never developed at all.

The finding suggests coffee could be a treatment for people with Alzheimer's disease, those researchers said.

5. Reduces prostate cancer risk

Regular coffee intake (either caffeinated or decaffeinated) is associated with a decreased risk of deadly prostate cancer, according to a study published today (May 17) in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

In the study of 47,911 men, 5,035 of whom had prostate cancer and 642 of whom had fatal or advanced cases, researchers found that men who drank the most coffee a day (six or more cups) had a nearly 20 percent lower risk of developing prostate cancer than those who drank the least coffee a day.

That association is even higher for lethal prostate cancer — the men who drank the most coffee a day had a 60 percent decreased risk of developing the disease, according to the study. And even drinking one to three cups of coffee a day was associated with a 30 percent lower risk of lethal prostate cancer, the study said.

Pass it on: Coffee has many health benefits, including reducing risk of certain cancers and warding off diabetes and stroke.

Have You Purchased Your Weiner Doll Yet?

Weiner doll crashes website - latimes.com

The new Weiner doll that is anatomically correct. Barbies all over must be sitting and waiting for this one, while the Ken dolls are sitting worried that they are manly enough for Barbie anymore.

I think it is absolutely hilarious but I am not certain why anyone would want to buy this doll. Apparently enough people went to the site that it crashed or caused it to overload.

Well on the positive side at least Anthony Weiner is creating jobs, since the doll states it is made in the USA.

I’m Melting

The second week of June and we are already having scorching weather.  My St. Augustine in already starting to be crunchy.  Some rain would be nice, just to green things up around here.

Usually it is not this hot until the end of July, but it has been bad this year.  First the freezes that froze most of our tropical plants and palms even though they were covered.  It was so bad they closed the bay for fishing.  I guess it gives the fishermen an edge. 

Then it went straight from the freezer into the frying pan with no rain in between.  It feels like a huge sauna with a huge blow dryer blowing on you all day long on high.  This is the third worst drought Texas has had since 1895, and it is just starting. 

In our area we are in an extreme drought.  We have been in a burn ban since before December.  If we don’t get some tropical moisture soon this is going to be a long hot summer. 

Have You Ever Noticed....

Men’s Behavior

I received this the other day and thought I would share.  I am uncertain who wrote it but thought it was pretty funny.  I hope you also enjoy it.

You are in the middle of some kind of project around the house...

...Mowing the lawn, putting in a new fence, painting the living room or whatever. You are hot and sweaty, covered in dust, lawn clippings, dirt or paint. You have your old work clothes on. You know the outfit -- shorts with the hole in the crotch, old T-shirt with a stain from who-knows-what and an old pair of tennis shoes. Right in the middle of this great home improvement project you realize you need to run to Home Depot to get something to help complete the job. Depending on your age you might do the following:

In your 20's: Stop what you are doing. Shave, take a shower, blow dry your hair, brush your teeth, floss and put on clean clothes. Check yourself in the mirror and flex. Add a dab of your favorite cologne because you never know, you just might meet some hot chick while standing in the checkout lane. And you went to school with the pretty girl running the register.

In your 30's: Stop what you are doing, put on clean shorts and shirt. Change shoes. You married the hot chick so no need for much else. Wash your hands and comb your hair. Check yourself in the mirror. Still got it. Add a shot of your favorite cologne to cover the smell. The cute girl running the register is the kid sister to someone you went to school with.

In your 40's: Stop what you are doing. Put on a sweatshirt that is long enough to cover the hole in the crotch of your shorts. Put on different shoes and a hat. Wash your hands. Your bottle of Brute Cologne is almost empty so you don't want to waste any of it on a trip to Home Depot. Check yourself in the mirror and do more sucking in than flexing. The hot young thing running the register is your daughter's age and you feel weird thinking she is spicy.

In your 50's: Stop what you are doing. Put a hat on, wipe the dirt off your hands onto your shirt. Change shoes because you don't want to get dog doo-doo in your new sports car. Check yourself in the mirror and you swear not to wear that shirt anymore because it makes you look fat. The Cutie running the register smiles when she sees you coming and you think you still have it. Then you remember the hat you have on is from Bubba's Bait & Beer Bar and it says, 'I Got Worms .'

In your 60's: Stop what you are doing. No need for a hat anymore.. Hose the dog doo-doo off your shoes. The mirror was shattered when you were in your 50's. You hope you have underwear on so nothing hangs out the hole in your pants. The girl running the register may be cute, but you don't have your glasses on so you are not sure.

In your 70's: Stop what you are doing. Wait to go to Home Depot until the drug store has your prescriptions ready, too. Don't even notice the dog doo-doo on your shoes. The young thing at the register smiles at you because you remind her of her grandfather.

In your 80's: Stop what you are doing. Start again. Then stop again. Now you remember you need to go to Home Depot. Go to Wal-Mart instead and wander around trying to think what it is you are looking for. Fart out loud and you think someone called out your name. You went to school with the old lady who greeted you at the front door.

In your 90's & beyond: What's a home deep hoe? Something for my garden? Where am I? Who am I? Why am I reading this? Did I send it? Did you? Who farted?

WTH Were They Thinking

WTH were they thinking is about the random things I have found during the week.  This week is about tattoos.   I don’t object to tattoos, they show individual creativity and personality.  I have a tattoo myself.  It is small and discreet.  I put a lot of thought into it before I got it about thirty years ago.  

Some of the tattoos I have seen lately though are unreal.   Even in a drunken stupor, I can not imagine getting a tattoo like some of these.  Alright, I am not as young as I once was, but still. 

 

If I woke up and saw that, I would think I was I having a nightmare!

 

Alright I might have a vivid imagination, but when I saw this one I was picturing someone in a bathing suit and hummingbirds and bees heading for the flower.

I just couldn’t stop laughing at this one!  Definitely a different way to express your Buddhism belief.

I don’t even have words to describe this one.  Again I couldn’t stop laughing but I can’t see anyone showing this in public.

Why I shop at Walmart.com

I have started shopping more on walmart.com than at walmart lately. 

• I can shop in my pajamas, which really doesn’t matter because every time I do go into Walmart I see people in their pajamas and slippers.
• I don’t have to listen to some woman shouting at the top of her lungs at crying kids to stay in the cart or to stop crying before she gives them something to cry about.
• I don’t have to stand in long lines at check out.  This has never made sense to me, why they have 30 check out lines but they only man 5 lines during rush hour.
• I have a selection and read the reviews, instead of asking some sales associate who only looks at me with the deer in the headlights look.
• I don’t have to see people dressed in the best Halloween costumes I have ever seen, no matter what time of year it is.
• I never have to look at the carts and wonder what virus I might be catching from the handle.
• I never have to watch behind me to make sure that some child is going to run their cart in to the back of my legs.
• I don’t have to worry that even though I park my vehicle in the north forty at least 10 spaces away from the last car, that someone won’t ghost ride a cart into the side of my vehicle.
• I don’t have to get into the shortest line possible only to find that the person in front of me has picked up every single item without a bar code and we have to wait to call a manager, who calls the department, who calls the price for each item.
• I don’t have to wait in line while the person in front of me has the cashier ring up the items and take items back out of the bags, removing items until they either have enough to pay for the items or tries to pay with 5 different sources of money.

I wish this town would get a new store other than walmart.