Originally Posted by Amaru
(Post 6970685)
Of all the vices you could possible choose, coffee is probably one of the least harmful. Everything I have read suggests that a cup or two every day will have no negative health effects. If you enjoy it, and if it keeps you awake and more productive, then why not indulge? Just don't drink it within 6 hours of bedtime if you have any trouble sleeping (ie. last cup of the day should be no later than mid-afternoon).
Contrary to popular belief, btw, coffee itself does not dehydrate you (nor does diet soda, for that matter). Caffeine is a diuretic, so it makes you pee more... but coffee is also 99% water, so the diuretic affect is mostly offset by the water intake. Of course I'm not suggesting it is a replacement for water, but it is mostly sodium-free and won't actively dehydrate you the way alcohol or a sodium-filled snack would. Still, plenty of water is always a good plan.
When I drink coffee, I have found that homo milk is sufficient in place of cream, while anything with less fat (ie. 2% milk or lower) is too watery. Frankly, I find it hilarious when people use skim or low-fat milk in their coffee for weight loss reasons. When you're talking about a couple of tablespoons of milk, the difference between homo and skim is miniscule. It's hardly worth ruining your daily coffee just to avoid a half gram of fat. (Usually, the people that put skim milk in their coffee because it's "fat-free" are the same people whose "afternoon snack" includes thick slices of cheese and sodium-packed table crackers. Pretty laughable how ignorant most people are when it comes to fat/calorie content.)
Anyway, I digress... when it comes to my daily coffee(s), I've long since cut out sugar... mostly because I can't taste the difference. Most people can't.
In fact, if you know someone who swears they need sugar in their coffee to enjoy it, challenge them to a taste test: Ask them to leave the room while you pour two small cups of coffee from the same pot. Add identical amounts of cream to each cup, but don't put any sugar in either cup. When the person returns to the room, tell them one cup has sugar in it and the other does not. Ask them to take a sip of both and identify the one that contains sugar. I guarantee you they'll choose one of the cups and claim - with great certainty - that it's the one with sugar in it. They'll feel like a moron when you tell them neither cup contains sugar, and probably won't ever put sugar in their coffee again...
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