Caffeine

Depending on who you choose to believe, and depending on if you really enjoy that cup of coffee, you get your choice of reports concerning coffee and caffeine. In a recent French study at the French National Health Medical Institute a researcher found that "moderate amounts" of coffee consumed increased energy while having little chance of addiction. These researchers state that caffeine has no effect on the brain centers that could cause addiction. The only flaw with this study is that it was done with rats! Which leads us to the question of just what is a moderate amount of coffee for a rat?

In a seperate study at Duke University Medical Center, researchers found that people (not rats in this one) who drink four to five cups of coffee in the morning forced their blood pressure higher as well as increasing their stress levels all day into the evening. According to this study, even a moderate amount of coffee makes a person react as if they are having a very stressful day. So the question is, "to drink, or not to drink". Your answer probably depends on whose study you believe and how much you really like coffee.