Coffee talk versus tea time

The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup, or whatever your favorite brand of coffee may be. The aroma of fresh brewed coffee is not only the highlight of most Americans' mornings, but is a necessity as well. College kids at Providence College and around the world reach immediately for the caffeine rich beverage when pulling all-nighters or struggling to stay awake in morning classes. But an interesting study from John Hopkins University and American University has determined that even one cup of coffee a day causes a caffeine addiction. Miss your morning cup and you will experience withdrawal symp-toms that could throw off your whole day.

Experiments show that 50 percent of coffee drinkers experience a severe headache when they miss their cup of joe and Reuters reports that 13 percent of drinkers become sick enough to lose time at work. So next time you are feeling grumpy, tired, and too sick to work determine if you just forgot your normal jolt of java.

The study's lead authors Roland Griffiths of John Hopkins and Laura Juliano of American University, want caffeine addiction to be recognized as a mental disorder and to have it listed in the "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders." But since 90 percent of North American adults drink caffeinated beverages, it is unlikely to result in marginalization due to the label of having a "mental disorder."

Regardless of whether caffeine addiction becomes a certified mental disorder, coffee has been connected to a number of health issues. Coffee has been shown to prevent type-2 diabetes, although decaf is your best bet health wise. Coffee drinkers intaking three or more cups a day are five times less like-ly to develop Parkinson's disease. Researchers believe caffeine reduces the amount of neurotransmitters produced by the brain, and it is these neurotransmitters which may damage surrounding brain tissue resulting in the disease. Caffeine was also connected to reducing liver damage in a May 2004 study. It is important to note that these caffeine benefits can also be obtained through other caffeinated beverages such as tea or soda.

There are, however, a number of health risks associated specifically with coffee. It is believed that coffee increases the risk of high blood pressure which in the long run can lead to heart attacks and strokes. Men drinking at least three cups a day show higher instances of thromboembolic stroke. Excessive coffee drinking, 11 or more cups a day, increases the risk of rheumatoid arthritis by fifteen times. There is also a higher rate of spinal bone loss among coffee drinkers.

With or without the health benefits and risks, there is something inherently American about starting your day off with a piping hot mug of percolated perfection. It may be patriotism that leads Americans to imbibe intense quantities of the brew, for tea has never recovered from the stigma it received in Boston in 1773. But maybe it is time to redeem tea from its second-rate beverage status.

Tea, particularly black or green tea, provides a noticeable boost to your immune system, fighting against colds, the flu, and cancer. A study from Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital is the first study to link tea to immunity. The connec-tion arises in the presence of L-theanine in tea. L-theanine stimulates the production of chemicals that cause T-cell production, and T-cells are a big part of the body's response to bacterial infection.

Tea seems to strengthen the bones of women, although this could be due to the calcium boost provided by adding milk. Tea also improves insulin activity up to fifteen times the normal rate, but to achieve this tea should be drunk without milk which renders the necessary chemicals unavailable to the body. Green tea reduces tumor size in rats and is now being studied in connection to fighting breast cancer. Countries where green tea is consumed regularly have less incidents of breast cancer as well. Drink a cup of green tea this month in recognition of October being breast cancer awareness month. Tea should not be viewed as a cure but as a vitamin for the immune system according to the study.

In this season with germs breeding on the PC campus like it was a petri dish and flu immunizations running scarce, students may want to consider a switch from that double latte frappuccino to a grande chai. You'll get between one third and half of the caffeine as you would from coffee, with all the health benefits, plus you will be doing your part to relieve tea from its historical limitations in America.

Sources: Reuters, about.com, Netscape News