HOW TO PREVENT CANCERS

Maybe it's the devotion it garners; or that it can cause the jitters; or simply that so many people enjoy it so much.  But for a very long time, coffee's been assumed to be on the healthy lifestyle black list.  And even as more and more evidence comes out that it has very few, if any, bad health effects - and may even have some benefits - it continues to exist in a kind of health grey area.

But, things are starting to change.  Jane Brody wrote a nice New York Times piece this summer on the links between coffee and health (Having Your Coffee and Enjoying It To).  And just yesterday, the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) posted a piece on its blog about coffee and cancer (Prevent Cancer with Your Morning Joe?), which along with information on cancer studies, includes tips for dealing with some aspects of specialty coffee drinks that could actually be improved  - the extra calories and saturated fats. The post also links to AICR's detailed page on coffee and cancer (Foods That Fight Cancer: Coffee).

So as we enter the shortest days of the year and you feel like you need a boost, go ahead and enjoy that  cup of coffee - just be sure to hold the whip cream.