Drink Your Vitamins Ode to (java) joy I felt so guilty last month when I wrote some harsh words about coffee (The New Ice Cream, Daily Dose 8/19/2005). Of course, I took some small solace in the fact that it wasn't really COFFEE I was writing about, but rather, what a lot of people have made it into these days: A 500-calorie coffee-flavored milkshake in a glass. But this month, I've got good reason to once again sing the praises of a good ol' cuppa Joe - one of my favorite nutritious drinks (along with red wine, dark beer, good scotch and raw milk). According to a study released just a few weeks ago, coffee contains more powerful, heart-healthy, cell-cleansing antioxidants than ANY OTHER food or drink in the American diet. Of course, I already knew this - but nobody in the mainstream listens to ME. That's why I was so heartened to see this exact factoid in a recent Associated Press article, along with a summary of some research from Japan, Harvard, and the University of Scranton showing the following: - Average per-day antioxidant consumption from coffee tops 1299 milligrams for the average American, from 1.64 cups of java daily (not nearly enough, if you ask me). The closest other sources were tea at 294 milligrams, and bananas at 76 milligrams. Corn was a distant 5th at 48 milligrams.
- People of both sexes who drink coffee every day enjoyed 50% less risk of developing liver cancer than their non-java swilling counterparts. This protective benefit INCREASED the more cups per day of coffee consumed.
- Compared to non-coffee drinkers. A 6-cup per day coffee regimen (8-ounce cups) cut the risk of type 2 diabetes in adult men by approximately 50% and in women by 30%.
- These kinds of benefits have been documented before, along with coffee's proven effects at clearing and focusing the mind, perking up energy, and relieving stress.
Of course, the AP piece also contained a bunch of ambiguous claptrap from various study-affiliated researchers to the effect that restraint or "moderation" should be used in coffee drinking - and that fruits, vegetables and grains are also great sources of antioxidants. Yeah, if you feel like strapping on a 5-pound bag of oats or mowing down a dozen ears of corn to get the same antioxidants as drinking a cup or two of java every morning. Bottom line: Like I've said for years, coffee and certain other drinks (like tea and red wine) are by far your best sources of antioxidants - blowing away all foods and even surpassing many supplements. Drink some every day and you'll be healthier and happier for it. **************************************************** A painless suggestion It's been a while since I talked about one of the most incredible-but-true phenomena in medicine - one that drives many health scams and provides the "proof" for many drug-related studies. It's called the Placebo Effect. In case you haven't heard of it, the Placebo Effect is basically the "power of suggestion." For example: People taking medicine that they BELIEVE will help them feel noticeable healing effects - whether said "medicine" is real or not. It's a well-documented phenomenon, now even more so. A recent University of Michigan study showed that EVERY ONE of 14 male test subjects who believed they were taking painkillers (but were in reality taking placebos) for some type of pain experienced actual pain relief. As it turns out, these patients' brains released higher levels of their own painkilling endorphins in response to the suggestive value of the ersatz painkillers. That means their pain relief is REAL, not simply a trick the mind is playing on the body. For some, this relief was substantial: In fact, 64% of the test's subjects were classified as "high responders" to placebo. Of course, more study is needed to determine if these results hold true for women… All this makes me wonder: If killer painkiller Vioxx had been just an expensive placebo, would it have "worked" as well as most doctors and patients say it did before being yanked from the market? I'm betting the answer would be Yes. I'm also betting nobody would be dead from it. Always "believing" in bean-power, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
