Your Health by Dr. Rallie McAllister

If improving your state of nutrition made your list of New Year's resolutions, you may be saying a fond farewell to a few of your favorite foods and beverages. The good news is that it's probably not necessary to pull the plug on your morning coffee.

For years, coffee has been viewed as a guilty pleasure by some, and a major health hazard by others. In the past decade, however, a growing body of scientific evidence supports the notion that moderate coffee consumption offers a number of perks for the body and brain.

Coffee may not be classified as a health elixir, but since it's made by brewing beans, there's no denying that it's a plant-based beverage. Like other plant foods, including fruits and vegetables, coffee is rich in disease-fighting antioxidants.

While fruits, vegetables, grains, and nuts are undoubtedly better sources of antioxidants, few Americans eat the recommended amounts of these wholesome, nutritious foods on a daily basis. In fact, researchers at the University of Scranton in Pennsylvania recently demonstrated that coffee is the largest source of antioxidants in the typical American's diet.

Although many foods, including red beans and blueberries, have far higher antioxidant concentrations than a cup of coffee, most Americans don't eat beans and berries regularly enough to derive the disease-fighting benefits. We do, however, drink plenty of coffee. According to the National Coffee Association, more than 80 percent of U.S. adults consume coffee at least occasionally, and over half the population drinks it on a daily basis.

Coffee's greatest claim to fame may lie in its ability to boost brainpower. After a jolt of java, individuals tend to perform better on tests that measure concentration, memory, and learning.

Coffee may have even greater benefits on the human brain, protecting it from degenerative disorders that lead to dementia. Recent studies suggest that habitual coffee drinkers have a lower risk for Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease than individuals who abstain.

Although scientists once believed that coffee might increase the risk for a variety of cancers, this theory has been disproved. As it turns out, regular consumption of the brewed beverage appears to offer a measure of cancer protection.

After a review and analysis of all scientific studies regarding coffee and colorectal cancer published between 1990 and 2003, researchers at the renowned Mario Negri Institute in Milan concluded that regular coffee intake may reduce the risk of colorectal cancer by as much as 25 percent.

The reasons for this phenomenon aren't entirely clear, but it could be due to coffee's laxative effect.

Because coffee hastens the elimination process, cancer-causing toxins in waste material are in contact with the intestinal lining for shorter periods of time. Coffee also appears to increase the activity of enzymes responsible for the detoxification of carcinogens in the body.

In a 2005 issue of the International Journal of Cancer, Canadian researchers reported that drinking coffee might have a protective effect against some types of breast cancer as well. Among women with BRCA gene mutations, those with high levels of coffee consumption appeared to have a reduced risk of developing breast cancer.

While coffee has long been implicated in the development of osteoporosis, there's no convincing scientific evidence to support the theory. Studies examining the effects of coffee consumption on bone loss in postmenopausal women reveal that as long as dietary calcium intake is adequate, drinking one to three cups of coffee a day has no detrimental effects on bone health.

Recent research also refutes the idea that drinking coffee is bad for your heart. In a 2006 study funded by the National Institutes of Health, scientists analyzed caffeine consumption among nearly 128,000 subjects and found that drinking coffee was not associated with an elevated risk of coronary heart disease.

Coffee may offer a measure of protection against diabetes. After an 18-year study involving more than 120,000 adults, Harvard scientists concluded that regular coffee consumption was associated with a significantly lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

A cup of coffers offers a number of potential health benefits, but there's no advantage to adding lots of sugar, cream, and artificial flavorings. If you're searching for ways to improve the quality of your diet in the coming year, your best bet might be to cut back on excess fat, sugar, and calories, and increase your intake of fresh fruits and vegetables.

If you make these changes in your daily diet, you can drink your morning coffee guilt-free, and enjoy all the perks it has to offer.

Rallie McAllister, M.D., M.P.H., is a family physician in Kingsport, Tenn., and author of "Healthy Lunchbox: The Working Mom's Guide to Keeping You and Your Kids Trim." Her Web site is http://www.rallieonhealth.com. To find out more about Rallie McAllister, M.D., and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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