Healthiest Pleasures

 

Extract from Healthiest Pleasures, health.com September 2010

Pleasure #7:

Your morning Java
It's completely OK if you need it to pry your eyes open in the a.m. A wealth of research suggests that coffee doesn't just pick you up - it fights heart disease and some cancers, and it may even help you push through harder, longer workouts. Moderate coffee-drinking in middle age has been associated with lower risks for dementia and Alzheimer's. And a 2009 review of more than four decades of research found that for every additional cup of coffee you drink each day - high-octane or decaf - your risk of developing type 2 diabetes shrinks by 7 percent, possibly improve your body's insulin sensitivity and increase metabolism. Enjoy up to two cups a day; more than that may leave you jittery or rob you of that precious number-one pleasure-sleep.