Consumer Reports

Are you a morning person? The kind of person who springs out of bed at the crack of dawn and doesn’t need a shot of caffeine to get going? Or are you the opposite? Clinging to your last precious minutes of sleep and then downing three cups of coffee before you can be fully functional? I’m the former and I always tease my friends who rely on coffee to get them going in the morning. But it turns out those coffee drinkers may be getting a health benefit that I’m not. Recent research shows that drinking coffee or tea (decaf or not) may reduce the risk of diabetes . Now before you stop reading and run off to get a refill, you should know that the researchers aren’t sure what causes the link between coffee and tea drinkers and decreased diabetes . They’ve ruled out caffeine since the effect was noticeable in decaf as well. But there are many other things that could play a part, such as the diets of the people in the study. Before they say that anything is conclusive, the researchers said clinical trials are necessary. So don’t start guzzling that cup of joe just yet, but stay tuned for the latest results. Are you a coffee or tea drinker? And do you prefer decaf?

A few months ago I wrote a post about the ban on smoking in bars and restaurants. People were very torn on this issue. Now, with a little time to see its effects, research shows that the ban has a direct correlation with a 17% decline in heart attacks in areas where the no-smoking policy has been implemented. In addition to that, for each year following the ban on smoking, communities are seeing an average of a 26% decline in heart attacks. Due to second-hand smoke, non-smokers have a 25-30% higher risk of heart attack if they inhale smoke at home or at work. Because cancer takes longer to develop, research has not yet demonstrated a link between the smoking ban and a decreased chance of getting lung cancer. But there also seems to be a decline in strokes. Have your thoughts or feelings about the ban on smoking changed in light of this research? Do you still think bar/restaurant owners should be able to choose whether or not to allow smoking in their establishment?