Coffee, tea or....

Ok, over the past few days, there were two news stories about popular beverages and their effects on health – yet only one made the major news: the one about coffee and how it can improve the memory in older women. I believe that it’s important news; many people drink a few cups of coffee a day. And, it’s really nice to hear something *good* about something we consume rather than all the Chicken Little news we’ve been hearing lately. But, another news story slipped right past us and I didn’t know about it until I did my news search for this blog. Green tea could help treat inflammatory skin conditions. That’s also something nice to know.

Ok, so it’s still in the mouse study stage, and I always tell people to be wary of studies at that stage. And, the mice were bathed in the tea, they didn’t drink it. We’ll just ignore those two facts for the purpose of this blog. {grin} Of course, by the time it gets to the people stage – if it ever does, who knows what the findings will be then. But it really caught my eye because of the coffee story from the day before more than anything else. Could it be that maybe the pendulum is swinging the other way and we may find out that more things we like to consume may actually be good for us?

Do you remember the butter controversy? Don’t eat butter, it will kill you. Oops, we made a mistake, the margarine we told you to eat might kill you, so you’d better eat butter. Ok, so which one is it? First we’re told don’t drink wine, then we’re told it may have benefits. We’re supposed to stay away from salt, but wait a minute, don’t overdo it because our bodies still need some salt.

Except for the things that we know are really bad for us, I vote we stop taking these studies as gospel (do eat this, don’t eat that) and return to a life of moderation. If we eat a good diet, unless we have a disease or disorder that says otherwise, a little bit of even the bad foods aren’t going to hurt us. Moderation should be the new buzzword. Now, where did I put that cup of coffee??

News for Today:
Quebec likely to join HPV vaccination bandwagon: health official
Plastics chemical poses no hazard, U.S. review finds
New liver test catches tumours earlier
Kids without enough insurance skip vaccines
Doctors urged to curb reliance on beta-blockers
Refusal of medical and surgical interventions common among chronically ill elderly
Stress may leave your mouth a mess