Once upon a time, coffee was believed by some Christians to be the devil's drink. When Pope Vincent III heard about this, he decided to taste it before banishing it. He enjoyed coffee so much that he decided to baptise it, saying, "Coffee is so delicious, it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it."
Coffee has become one of those drinks that we love to hate, and hate to love. We are told it has too much caffeine, is addictive, is bad for pregnant women and so on - but is it really all that bad?
Dietitian Caitlin Reid, in conjunction with coffee maker Moccona, has developed a website, coffeewellbeing.com.au, to highlight the positive benefits of coffee and to help dispell misconceptions about coffee.
According to Reid, not only does coffee give you energy and increase awareness but it is also rich in antioxidants and is scientifically proven to helps improve a sense of well being, mood, happiness and sociability, when consumed in moderation.
Furthermore, recent studies have discovered that people who sip java lower their risks of getting Type 2 diabetes by 30 per cent.
Other studies suggest that coffee cuts the risks of Parkinson’s disease, colon cancer, and gallstones.
And as for those who consume too much alcohol, drinking coffee helps reduce incidence of liver cirrhosis.
Yes, there may be side effects to drinking too much coffee such as stained teeth, increased blood pressure, insomnia, anxiety and gastrointestinal ulcers; however, the benefits are too beneficial to ignore.
After all, nothing is perfect.