Coffee Drinkers, Rejoice!

I’m a huge fan of food and nutrition studies. Not so much the ones that tell me I should be adding or getting rid of something in my diet so that I might lead a healthier life. I ignore those entirely. But rather those that make me feel better about doing things I already do. Like when they said that tomatoes combat prostate cancer, I was ecstatic because I just love the little guys (especially the way they fit so nicely between a burger and a bun). And when they said dark chocolate is a powerful antioxidant, I had little to no idea what they were talking about, but I once again rejoiced (dark is my chocolate of choice). More than these though, I like the studies that tell me I should be upping my intake of foods/substances I am truly passionate about. Such as the study published in the June 2007 issue of the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism that finds that coffee may help to prevent gout (or metabolic arthritis). The best part about this is that these scientists are not saying the key to preventing gout is the substance in moderation, as these people are apt to do. No, they’ve made it very clear that one needs to drink a lot of it to reap these benefits. Says the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Hyon Choi in an interview with Reuters: "We found that when they are drinking four to five cups of coffee, there was a 40-percent reduction. Drinking six or more cups resulted in a 50- to 60-percent reduction (in the risk for gout)." What I take from this is that not only should I be drinking my coffee everyday, I should be drinking much more of it than I already do. Sure, sure the thought has popped into my mind that drinking six or more cups a day might very well lead to something else, something far worse than gout. But, for now I’m just rejoicing…

You can do it.