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Is Coffee Really Just Socially Acceptable Addiction?
More Americans drink coffee daily than tap water. Should we quit?
“Will you play UNO with me?” my 4-year-old asks me, at the crack of way-too-early.
“Ummm…soon. Mama needs coffee first.”
“Well you don’t need coffee.”
She’s obsessed with this lately, the difference between needs and wants. We need sleep. We only want to wear the unicorn pajamas that are currently covered in spaghetti sauce and homemade popsicle.
“Sure, you’re right — I want coffee. But, actually, well, it’s complicated.”
Hello, my name is Darcy…. and I am a coffeeholic.
It’s not a bad addiction to have, right?
Recent studies have found — at least among nonsmokers — coffee might help us live longer. Coffee drinking — whether caffeinated or decaf — reduces the risk of death from heart disease, stroke, diabetes, neurological diseases, and suicide.
The peak benefit comes at three to five cups a day, conferring a 15 percent reduced risk of death.
So maybe I should think of my twice-a-day (OK, usually thrice-a-day) coffee habit like taking a vitamin — a hot, delicious, soothing vitamin that understands me like no one else.
