Any substance so gently arousing and bewitching to the senses must be paired with adventure and romance. And the colorful story of coffee does not disappoint.

As legend has it, coffee was discovered by an Ethiopian goatherd, in about 800 A.D. The observant boy noticed that his flock became more frolicsome after eating the red berries of a certain bush. So he tried some. Soon, local monks were munching the berries to keep them awake during their hours of nighttime prayer.

For the next 900 years or so, the beans of this red berry, now roasted, ground, and boiled into a thick sweet beverage, became entwined within the social rituals of Arabia and Africa.  And like another thick black substance, its distribution was tightly controlled.

With colonies in the New World, however, Europeans finally had the means to grow their own coffee and through knavery and intrigue obtained the coffee plants that would soon blanket hillsides throughout the Americas. It is said, for example, that the enormous Brazilian plantations sprang from a few sprigs of coffee plants hidden in a bouquet of flowers from a governor’s wife to her swashbuckling lover.

Here in the land of the free, we would still be sipping tea but for the fact that the tea became a symbol of our discontent and ended up at the bottom of the harbor. So, coffee—roughly ground and boiled until black as tar—traveled west in saddlebags and Conestoga wagons.

Now, despite occasional trashing in health magazines, coffee may endow its devotees with some positive side effects after all. Besides the mental kick (59 percent of coffee drinkers say it makes them more productive), it also has intriguing links to lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s diseases.

Caffeine-rich coffee also may be the last legal performance-enhancer standing. According to a recent New York Times article, Dr. Mark Tarnopolsky of McMaster University in Ontario, Canada, said, “It’s just unequivocal that caffeine improves performance. It’s been shown in well-respected labs…around the world.” A 4-ounce cup of coffee would be enough to improve the speed and endurance of a 176-pound man up to 25 percent in a lab situation or maybe 5 percent in the real world. 

So, whether the marathon is a 5-K run or a major presentation in the morning, you can’t go wrong with a cup of joe.

By Kate Convissor

REFERENCES

Bakalar, Nicholas. “Coffee Linked to Lower Dementia Risk.” 24 Jan 2009. The New York Times. 11 May 2009

Buzby, Jean C. and Stephen Haley. “Coffee Consumption Over the Last Century.”  June 2007. Amber Waves. U.S. Dept of Agriculture. 11 May 2009

“Coffee.” 2006. Coffeeresearch.org. 11 May 2009.

“Coffee: Beyond the Buzz.” 1999. National Geographic Society. 11 May 2009

Hill, Carrie, PhD. “Coffee Consumption May Reduce Alzheimer’s Risk.” 27 Jan 2009. About.com. 11 May 2009

Kolata, Gina. “It’s Time to Make a Coffee Run.” 26 Mar. 2009. The New York Times. 11 May 2009

“National Coffee-Drinking Trends 2009.” Brochure.  National Coffee Association of the USA. 11 May 2009

Been a little cranky lately? Can’t focus? Not sleeping well? Unable to resist the Double Chocolate Toffee Crunch stashed in the bottom of the freezer?

Fallout from the current financial meltdown has taken its toll on our wallets, our job security, and our peace of mind, but now there’s even more good news. A new survey of 300 married couples conducted by Professor Wayne Hockwarter at Florida State University’s College of Business has quantified just how stressed we are.

Over 70 percent of those surveyed said that the recession has “significantly increased the stress levels of employees in recent months.” Demands from management have increased, they say, including pressure to cut costs “on a weekly basis.” Over 80 percent said that they were “nervous about their long-term financial well-being.” Similar majorities have “significantly” cut their personal spending and say it’s unlikely they’ll retire when they had planned or with the nest egg they had anticipated having even a year ago.

As if the uncertainty and added demands weren’t enough, 40 percent of those surveyed report an increase in “incivility” in the workplace (backstabbing, brownnosing, and general chicanery) as those who are still employed jockey for position before the next volley of cuts.

In the face of such a dismal outlook, Dr. Mehmet Oz, renowned cardiologist and Oprah’s medical expert, reminds us that chronic stress takes a toll on our bodies. First, it makes us want to eat more (the way our distant ancestors responded to the chronic stress of famine). It also disrupts healthy sleep and raises blood pressure. Other studies suggest that stress interferes with our ability to concentrate and compromises our immune responses, making us more susceptible to illness.

And while none of this is news, maybe it’s a good time to take the advice Dr. Oz dishes out to himself: get better sleep, watch your diet, exercise regularly, reach out to friends. And his “quick fix stress reducer?” Deep-belly Yoga breathing. Frankly, Double Chocolate Toffee Crunch sounds more fun.

Want to discover your own stress level? Take this stress test adapted from an assessment tool developed in the 1990s by researchers M. A. Miller and Dr. Richard Rahe.

By Kate Convissor

REFERENCES:
“Families Are Feeling Stress of Economic Crisis, Researcher Finds.” Science Daily. 12 Mar. 2009. Florida State University. 27 Mar. 2009

Tjan, Tony. “Don’t Let the Finance Crisis Become a Health Crisis.” (Interview with Dr. Mehmet Oz) Harvard Business.org 17 Mar. 2009. Harvard Business Publishing. 27 Mar. 2009