So Is Coffee Good For You or Not?

I was wondering the same question since I recently started drinking coffee again after quitting for about a year and a half. I didn't quit because of any problems, in fact one of my doctors questioned why I was stopping because of coffee's antioxidants and because it's good for your liver. However, I'd been a committed coffee drinker for more than 40 years and I was wondering if I was hooked. Because of our involvement with Team Beachbody Marge and I are both exploring nutrition and what we eat and drink so I decided to cut out coffee, at least for a while.

Turns out I didn't have a big problem quitting coffee .. no headaches or withdrawal symptoms, and no noticeable lack of energy or alertness. So no real drama either way.

About a month or so ago I decided to drink coffee again. Frankly I was getting bored with tea (sorry tea fans) and decided I'd switch back.

This recent post from the Mayo Clinic address possible concerns. Fortunately I have none of the contraindicators, so I guess I'll keep on with the bean.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-living/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

Coffee Wins

After 18+ months of almost no coffee, and just a little green tea, I've recently started drinking black coffee again. When I originally decided to stop and mentioned it to my doctor he asked why, specifically because coffee is a strong antioxidant and good for the liver. Anyway, I just started again in the last two weeks and this article from Runners World supports my decision.

http://www.runnersworld.com/nutrition-for-runners/eight-reasons-to-sip-on-coffee?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Nutrition-_-Coffee

I Finally Found Use for My Real College Major

I'm quite relieved to discover what I was really doing in the 60s! (We probably don't need to get in to a lot of detail on this point, I'm talking about college majors ... sorta.)

I was an English major and Sociology minor at the University of Connecticut. Officially, anyway. That's what it says on my transcript. However, I now realize my real major was Coffeehouse Meetings.

I may have missed a few inconveniently timed, officially scheduled classes along the way, maybe, but I was consistent, eager, and at the head of the class in attendance on my daily rounds at coffee spots in the dorm, at the student union, and at a marvelous, hanger-size basement called the Campus Restaurant (which I think never closed).

And that's what I do a whole lot in my social and work life now. I hang out in coffee houses.

I suppose back in the day I could have taken a big hint from UCONN Dean Hewes at the end of the semester in the spring of my Freshman year.

Dean Hewes said, "Bruce, if we had a major in extracurricular activities and meeting people, you'd be on the honor roll. But we don't. And you're not only NOT on the honor roll in your real major, but we're going to have to drop you from the Honors Program."

Wow, he knew what I was all about!

He was, of course trying to motivate me to fight my way back into the Honors Program, but the message I might have picked up was .... "Do what you love." Which was indeed what I did, for three more years.

And what I love to do is meet people in relaxed, congenial, convivial settings to talk about their lives, their dreams, their plans, and what's going on to move them in the directions they have chosen. And these days, as a Team Beachbody Coach, often we talk about health and fitness, of interest to just about everyone.

So what better place to hang out and meet and talk with people than in a coffee house? In the Wilmington area I spend a lot of time meeting people in Port City Javas and at times at Atlanta Bread. I like to move around (can you say "moving target"?) and along the way find new coffee places, especially independent spots where everything comes together just  right.

One of my new fav coffee places is Courthouse Coffee in the small city of Burgaw. Burgaw is also notable for its wonderful town green and friendly people, but I'm not doing a travelog here, this post is about places to drink coffee and meet people. Courthouse Coffee is the dream fulfillment of Donna Best-Klingel and her husband Barry Klingel and it's a nifty spot. They sell used books, too, which is a big draw for me, plus they have healthy food and snacks, indoor and outdoor seating, wireless Internet, and wicked good coffee. Yay.

So that's actually where I'll be this coming Friday morning, at Courthouse Coffee, 106 Courthouse Avenue in the Historic District of Downtown Burgaw. I'll be doing some post-graduate work in my college major, you see. Stop by and say "hey" if you're in the area.

Here's a link to the Courthouse Coffee Facebook page with info and directions.

And, for those who have the same major, where do you hang out?

Coffee - Your Mileage May Vary

Did you ever even question whether coffee gives you a boost before or during the work day? Or have you, as I have, always just pretty much figured it was people go-juice. Well, apparently it doesn't always work that way. Or at least it may work better depending on the type of work one does. Writers, for example, may find that coffee interferes with productivity.

Huh? Where does this come from you ask? Well from no less than Arvind Narayanan's Randomwalker's Journal. In April 2007 Arvind published a study on the effects of coffee consumption in the workplace titled, "The Calculus of Caffeine Consumption".

The bottom line . . . apparently coffee can work for you if you have time-bound work, especially if it's work where close attention is required, but if you work creatively with no time restraints, coffee consumption may actually interfere with your productivity. At least that's how I read Arvind's study.

So check it out and let me know what you think. I'd love to see comments on this. In the mean time, you see that cup of coffee at the top of this post? It's empty.