Top Five Reasons You Should Drink Coffee

Coffee. Java. Jo. No matter what you call it, over 1/3rd of the world's population consumes it.

Personally, I love the stuff. Straight black for me. The aroma is intoxicating.

Do you stop to savor the experience? I used to gulp it down without much thought- other than I totally love the smell of a coffee house or walking in the kitchen right after a pot is brewed.

Now, I select a range of flavors to keep in my cupboard, use bottled water (yes, it does make a huge difference as to what water you use to brew!) and enjoy only one (sometimes two) cups a day.

It's one of my stolen pleasures- reliable, comforting, delicious, warm...bliss.

A dear friend of mine even travels with her coffee maker. I totally love that! We all need to keep our comforts close and take the time to treasure them.

But, why do we love coffee so much and is that cup o'Jo really something we should savor in our diets.

I'm happy to say (depending upon which way you look at it) the answer is yes, yes, yes!

Here are the top ten reasons you should pick up that mug and enjoy a cup of coffee today:

Coffee lowers your risk of Diabetes. According to a recent study conducted by Harvard researchers, drinking coffee can slash your risk developing diabetes by 30 percent (in women) to 54 percent (in men.)

Of course, this does mean you need to drink an average of six cups a day, but who's counting?

Coffee lowers your risk of Colon Cancer. According to WebMd.com, research shows that drinking two cups of coffee a day can reduce your risk of colon cancer by up to 25 percent.

Coffee delivers anti-oxidants. One can hardly open a health-related news article without seeing the merits of anti-oxidants touted. According to the Coffee Review, studies show that coffee contains four times the amount of cancer-fighting antioxidants as green tea. Of course, there's no mention of who conducted the studies, what type of coffee beans were used, or how it was brewed, but the results are favorable, so it definitely makes the coffee-lover list!

I say, down with vegtables...who needs them when I have my java at hand?

Caffeine increases your ability to process information. According Heine Brother's Coffee, studies (there's those anonymous studies, again) show that caffeine increases the speed of rapid information processing by 10 percent. So go and drink a cup and you'll get through this article 1/10^th faster than a non-java drinker.

Coffee prevents accidents. Research at the Sleep Research Laboratory (uh, I'd love to be a guinia pig there) conclude that caffeinated coffee in conjunction with brief naps will counter measures to driver sleepiness.

Other claims touted to be associated with coffee benefits are a reduction in depression and anxiety, reduced risk of kidney stones (although beer was also found to reduce risks, which leaves the question of - is it really the choice of fluid or the frequent bathroom breaks?) and last, but not least, coffee is a good source of potassium.

So, for goodness sake, drop that banana and turn on the brew!