Don't weigh down your coffee
In the 1998 film, "You've Got Mail," chain-store owning, hard-driving businessman Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) rants about personalized coffee orders. "Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low-fat, non-fat, etc. ... people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on Earth they are, can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee, but an absolutely defining sense of self."
Joe was a bit off-base. We get why people are picky about their coffee: You want that cuppa Joe (ironic?) to be primo. But what's worth ranting about is the impulse to take a good-for-you beverage and turn it into a drink that is anything but healthy.
In a study published in the journal Public Health, researchers found a full two-thirds of coffee drinkers add high-calorie, inflammation-triggering, heart-clogging substances like sugar, cream and flavored syrups to their franchised cup of java, adding 60 to 140 extra calories per drink.
By itself, coffee is loaded with disease-preventing compounds. In fact, the scientific report of the U.S. dietary guidelines advisory committee says: "Consistent evidence indicates that coffee consumption is associated with reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults. Moreover, moderate evidence shows a protective association between caffeine intake and risk of Parkinson's disease."
So, if black coffee isn't for you, use nonfat milk; add cinnamon or nutmeg, but use the real deal, not anything with high fructose, corn-syrupy additives. Then when you walk up to the counter you'll hand over your bucks, but not your health.
Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.
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