Note to Self: Must Drink More Coffee

In today’s Sunday Times, which I have just this minute finished flicking through as I consumed my Father’s Day bowl of porridge (it is 9:54 a.m. and both my wife and son are still asleep), it tells me—once again—that more coffee equals a longer life.

According to this article, which summarises the results of a five year survey on the health effects of coffee consumption on the Greek island of Ikaria which—so the article says—is known as “the island of longevity” (I didn’t know that), drinking coffee is the secret to a long life.

Obviously it can only be one of the secrets to a long life because over the last five or so years I seem to recall that there have been numerous longer-life secrets revealed. From memory drinking a couple of glasses of red wine is another, and I think even eating oats as porridge might be in the Top 20. I also recall seeing or hearing good reports on beer, eggs (yep, eggs are back—seems the cholesterol they contain is mostly the “good” cholesterol), fish, chocolate (it seems the health benefits of chocolate have no end), fish, sunlight (which we were once being told to avoid at all costs), fish, and sex. Honestly. Over at LiveScience the number one thing that is good for you/us is sex. Click on the LiveScience logo to go their site if you don’t believe me.

It is a pity about eating fish being so good for us, considering the world is running out of fish stocks.

As I had nothing better to do I decided to Google the health benefits of coffee and find out a little more.

It seems coffee is amazingly good for us. One of the main things it does is keep the arteries and veins nice and supple and elastic. It is also chockers with antioxidants, and we all know how awesomely good they are for us (but right now I forget why). As well coffee has been medically proven to ward off diabetes, and for those with diabetes it amplifies the effect of  insulin (what little insulin us diabetics have left, but there are downsides to this and I can personally testify to them). One item I came across claims coffee even dissolves and cleans ‘bad’ cholesterol from the walls of arteries where it might have built up.

Well I drink coffee and have oats for breakfast every day, and on the odd occasion I eat fish. Pity about the sex—but anyway, imagine how long I am going to live. Right up until I die would be my guess.

If my ‘tone’ here seems a little flippant it is because I can just about guarantee that tomorrow, or next week, or next month, there will be an equally well researched paper published that will tell us how bad coffee is. But I won’t be reading that because I am happy to go along with the “coffee is good” view of things.

Off to make a nice double-shot flat white. Mmmmm. Love the smell. Love the taste.