Coffee has really been in the news a lot lately and a lot readers here are probably wondering if this stuff is really healthy, as some proponents claim, or is a possible hard to your wellness, as still others contend. I tend to prefer Cappucino's
myself, but that is just my personal taste.

One thing that we do know for sure is that it is certainly one of the most popular drinks in this country and the whole globe as well.
Whether you buy it on break while at work at the corner Starbucks or SB in Seattle, enjoying it Vienna style with cinnamin or
drinking an unusually strong brew served very hot along with Qat leaves as they do at cafe's in Sana and Aden in Yemen or Oman on the Arabian peninsula, coffee is simply
a faovite drink globally. But is it healthy, you ask? Actually this question is probably even more important in the small nation of Finland, which
leads the entire planet in coffee drinking, undoubtedly due it to it's frigid weather.

There appears to be both health pluses and possible minuses associated with the hot drink. For instance, in a review of studies published last year in The Journal of the AMA, it was determined that habitual coffee consumption was actually related to a lower risk of the dreaded Type two diabetes.

Possible the reasons for this are that Coffee is loaded with the specific antioxidants that may moderate the cell damage which can contribute to the spread of this disease. In addition, it is a source of chlorogenic acid, which has been shown in some experiments to lower the body's glucose.

Caffeine, perhaps coffee’s most famous component, appears to have little to do with it; the studies found that decaffeinated coffee alone found the same results.

Larger quantities of coffee seem to be very helpful in diabetes prevention. In a report that combined statistical data from many studies, researchers found that people who drank four to six cups of the hot beverage every day had an almost 30% reduced risk as compared with those who drank 2 or less. Those who drank more than six had a whopping 35 percent risk reduction.

Some research studies have shown that cardiovascular risk also appears to lesson along with coffee injestion. Using data on more than twenty-seven thousand females between 55 to 69 in the Iowa Women’s Health Study who were followed for fifteen years, Norwegian researchers discovered that the ones who drank 1 to 3 cups every day lowered their risk of cardiovascular disease by nearly 25% as compared with those drinking none.

But as the amount increased, the benefit decreased, apparently. At more than six cups a day, the risk was not significantly reduced. Still, after controlling for age, smoking and alcohol consumption, women who drank one to five cups a day — caffeinated or decaffeinated — reduced their risk of death from all causes during the study by 15 to 19 percent compared with those who drank none.


In another analysis, published in July in that same journal, researchers discovered that a usual serving of coffee contains even more antioxidants than the usual servings of grape juice, blueberries, raspberries and oranges, based on ORAC (Ozygen Radical Absorption Capacity).

It should be mentioned in passing that there may be some negatives also related with the drink for some.
Some individuals who have heart problems and also are very sensitive to the stimulant caffeine may want to limit
or even elimnated ther consumption. I also understand that somewhere in the states, I belive in Portland Oregon, they actually have a center to treat caffeine dependency fostered in large part by coffee. In any case, it is wise to check with a doctor to obtain
information from someone familiar with your particular health and physiology, as different people likely respond to coffee differently, despite the universal
aspects of the beverage.

I have noticed that a lot more people lately are getting fed up with the lack of universal health care as it seems to be less and less affordable, even for the upper middle class. In this day and age where a hospital bed can cost a thousand dollars a night, a bandaid five bucks and when illegal immigrants are using emergency rooms like walk in clinics so that they eventually close down people are just getting fed up. The other day someone called in a major conservative radio show and told the host that his kids who just graduated a good college cannot afford health care and no employers will help them get it. Journalist Andi Atwater of The 'Wichita Eagle'
in Kansas recently reported that:
The Health and Wellness Coalition's Working Well Conference here aims to provide the information most employers need to start reducing health care costs.........

The coalition, made up of health and wellness professionals whose primary goal is to promote physical activity and good nutrition among Wichita residents, is targeting employers to reach area adults.

Employers are encouraged to play a role in their employees' health, a recurring theme in health care today.

"Employers are looking to reduce their health care costs and prove there is a return on investment on wellness programs," said Jessica Tarbell, a coalition member and metro health and fitness director for the Greater Wichita YMCA.

"The other benefit is employee morale and retention of employees, who are going to stick around if there are benefits like discounts to health clubs, screenings and on-site classes," she said. "A lot of people are looking to promote wellness in the workplace, but they don't know where to begin."


And went on to say:
the conference will give employers, health plan coordinators, care providers and government agencies examples of successful programs, components of work site wellness programs and an overview of work site policies that contribute to better health.

That's been the message all along for wellness and prevention
And finally quoted someone to make this important point:
"e've only begun to appreciate how the general health of the working population (is) a powerful predictor of the success of a company," Early said. "A business is like a family in a sense. When one employee is sick... it has a ripple effect."

There is yet more bad news regarding the global fight against AIDS.
A troubling August 06'AFB story by Catherine Hours highlights a major HIV trend in the United States.
She asks "...........has HIV become, as one prominent US activist said, a "black disease"?
She also noted alarming simliarities between the disease's impact in the developing world and among minorities in the world's richest ncountry that are sparking alarm bells, not to mention calls for a whole
new generation of community leadership in the Black Community.
The report then goes on to say:
Although Blacks represent a mere thirteen percent of the US population, when it comes to AIDS,

Some forty-nine percent of the 1.2 million Americans living with HIV or AIDS are black, according to the Kaiser Foundation, a non-governmental organisation.

"Today, AIDS in America is a Black disease," stated Phill Wilson, the executive director of the Black AIDS Institute, at the sixteenth International AIDS conference here.

"It is an unprecedented crisis in Black America, a crisis we should have seen coming."

And females in the black community are paying a particularly heavy toll in the epidemic, accounting for some sixty-seven percent of American females who have contracted HIV, according to Kaiser.

Forty six percent of all black gay and bisexuals are estimated to be infected, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

And the saddest statistic of all: among young Americans between the age of thirteen and nineteen, fully 2/3rds of those infected with AIDS are black, with the virus most often passed on through unprotected intercourse.

Some experts and community members are wondering why black America is bearing such a heavy burden, an issue that touches on America's faultlines of race and poverty just as much as on grassroots problems.

The reasons, they conclude, include: poverty; a tenacious homophobia within the community which makes talk about gay sex (and therefore safe sex) very difficult; and the huge numbers of minorities in American prisons, a breeding area for the spread of HIV generally.

Bill Clinton, very popular among blacks during his 8 years in office, drew a parallel recently between America and the Third world.

"We know a lot of it is a result of African American females being ironically in positions similar to that that women in some developing countries find themselves," he stated.

He went on to say that a large number of black females contracted HIV from partners who had picked it up through sharing drug needles, from other females or from prison.

He also stated: "They really are facing the same sort of empowerment issues that a lot of women in developing countries are," Clinton said.

Other politicians who have spoken out on the issue include Democratic Representative Barbara Lee, who recently went on the record, saying:
"HIV is affecting African-Americans disproportionately here in the West, in the most powerful country in the world, and this is unacceptable."
...............These are grim statistics indeed

The battle against the HIV virus has largely shifted to prevention, according to a Reuters story out of Toronto, Canada.



"Prevention of HIV had slipped off the agenda and now is being pushed by unexpected quarters," Dr. Peter Piot, head of the UN Aids agency.

"In the past, if I had mentioned prevention, I would have been accused of being against treatment," Piot said



One promising approach is called PreP, for pre-exposure prophylaxis. Some early studies suggest that people at high risk of infection could take one or two of the safest drugs used as part of HIV cocktails to help protect themselves.

"If you are a female who is working every day obviously you have to take it every day," Dr. Joep Lange of the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, told a news conference.

Just over fifty percent, or 17.3 million, of the thirty-four million adults who are now infected with this immune system attacking disease are females, according to the WHO.

These measure will have to work in India, Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa for these measures to really stem the tide of the epedemic. These regions lead the world in the disease while being historically opposed to condom use.

The U.S. currently leads the world in funding HIV relief and prevention efforts but Piot said that other countries need to help as well...."You cannot replace the state and government when you are dealing with a massive problem like AIDS, and it cannot come only from rich countries," he is quoted as saying.

"Honestly, China is flooding the world with goods. They have to start investing in social issues."

The health and wellness blog over at herbsr4u reminds us not to be too complacent with the aids virus. The article there goes on to say "while the news may suggest otherwise, HIV is still growing steadily worldwide. It is a massive epedemic, and despite the fact that certain specific programs have paid off recently, it is growing nonetheless.

There have indeed been various demographic changes to the disease recently. For one, India now ranks as the country with the highest HIV infection rate. What has caused India to surpass other countries in this unfortunate statistic? Evidentally it has to do with the culture and/or lifestyle. In India, a strongly patriarchical culture, condoms are disdained to the extent that a national campaign to disperse condoms actually caused rioting a number of years ago. In addition, the use of prostitutes is more widespread here than in many other countries, and a serious problem is the large number of brothels along the major roadways which are often visited by truck drivers. This has contributed substantially to the rapid spread the HIV virus to all corners of India.

And yet condom use is almost certainly the primary factor. In Thailand, for instance, it has been reported that males there spend more money on prostitutes relative to earnings than any other nation on the globe. But Thailand, after leading Asia in Aids cases for some time, is now seeing genuine progress in their fight against this disease. The key has been a strong condom-distribution plan.
Areas of Africa have reported simliar results from these programs.
In Europe, meanwhile, needle exchange programs have been among the most successful programs so far.

It is important to keep in mind that not all fats are bad for your health....... The cardiovascular system's bggest problem, according to top fatty acids' research scientist Dr. Barry Sears, is saturated fats found in a plethera of meat & dairy products. These fats can higher your bad cholesterol levels to an unhealthy level while making the blood more sluggish, as well as prone to clotting. This, unfortunately, may constrict arteries so less blood and oxygen get to the heart and brain. Your should largely avoid fatty meats and just stick to lean poultry and fish. Another artery enemy is trans-fat, which is found in food items such as hard margarine and the hydrogenated oils found in many different processed foods, such as chipc, crackers & cookies (to name just a few). It is certainly best to stay away from saturated fats & trans fats and choose heart healthy fats such as olive oil (which is very high in good omega-9's), canola oil, borage oil (contains a good omega-6), avocado, flaxseed oil & fish oil (high in long chain omega-3 fatty acids).
Rice bran oil is also recommended by some researchers, such as Bill Sardi. Other foods which have "good" fats include sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamia and other assorted nuts & seeds.