What's in Your Cup?

Have you ever wondered what is in a cup of Joe...I mean besides the caffeine, the sugar or the cream that you may put in?

There are actually over 900 compounds that make up a cup of coffee. This includes lipids, vitamins, carbohydrates and even fiber! Yes, fiber. According to an article in Scientific American that appeared March 13, 2007. Scientific American reported that food scientists at the National Research Council in Madrid, Fulgencio Saura-Calixto and Elena Diaz-Rubio found that an 8 ounce cup of coffee can contain as much as 1.5 grams of soluble fiber. Not that coffee should become your main source of fiber, but since most people are far from getting their recommended daily allowance for fiber, it is nice to know you are getting a little more with your daily fix of coffee.

Other interesting compounds in coffee include;
Antioxidants- one of the richest sources of antioxidants in our diet. Helps fight oxidative stress, keeping us younger and helps prevent some cancers.
Lipids- coffee contains lipids similar to vegetable oil and is what gives rise to the wonderful aroma of coffee since the aromatic compounds are mostly oil soluble.
Vitamins- coffee contains many B vitamins, Calcium, Folic acid, Potassium, Zinc and vitamin C.
Protein- coffee in it's dry state contains about 10% protein in the form of a myriad of amino acids such as lysine, arginine, cysteine and glutamic acid, just to name a few.
So there is a lot to celebrate with a cup of coffee...aside from lifting the morning fog!

Hot Day...Hot Beverage?

I heard a long time ago that drinking hot beverages on a hot day actually cools you down.  Since today is 32 degrees and feels like 39, I thought this would be a good day to research the subject and find out once and for all the answer to the question.  And where do you go to find out such information?  Of course, I googled it.  However, what I found was just utter confusion.  Some say, yes, drinking a hot beverage on a hot day will actually cool you down.  The basis for this, it seems, is that if you drink a hot beverage it will actually make you sweat more which is what cools you down, but first you may feel even more uncomfortable if you are already overheated.  Some say that if you drink a cold drink on a hot day that the body has to heat it up to digest it and thermoregulate the body, so energy is exerted doing that.  Finally, there was the group that said that you should actually drink luke warm drinks, as this way it is closer to body temperature and requires less energy for the body to regulate itself.  There was no real consensus, no real scientific evidence one way or the other.
All in all there were lots of people in all camps, some drink hot drinks, some cold and some lukewarm.  As a matter of fact, last week while I was filling a machine, two guys who were landscapers came into the store and both got coffee from the machine and they were working outside, and it was hot!  So I guess they are in the camp of hot day, hot drink. 
Personally, I always found myself to drink hot coffee, even on hot days just because I was in an office and when it was hot outside, it was freezing inside! 
Perhaps, the most important aspect is just drink something...hot, cold or lukewarm, just keep those cells hydrated, however you prefer to do it! 
Stay cool!

What about you?  What is your theory on hot day, hot beverage?