So-Called Health Experts: Coffee Good, Beer Bad. Pfffft.

Lots of people have a love affair with coffee. I’m one of them. I also happen to like beer so I’ll just take what the health experts say with a grain of salt.

Let’s start with coffee. Researchers from the Baker Institute in Australia analyzed coffee's benefits and found that caffeine can actually block a chemical that increases the risk of abnormal heart rhythms. That’s good news. Of course, they are cautioning coffee drinkers with a pre-existing heart condition to seek advice from the doctor before increasing their amount of coffee or tea to 3 cups per day - which they found to be the "sweet spot" amount in receiving these benefits.

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On a personal note, I surpassed 3 cups of coffee by 6:30 AM. So I should be good here.

Let’s move to beer for a moment. According to another new study, drinking just one extra beer or a glass of wine a week could shorten your life by 30 minutes. This buzzkill of a study was done on 40-year-old men who consumed two drinks per day and found their lifespan to shorten by 1 to 2 years.

The ill effects of alcohol are found on the side of every can and bottles sold. Don’t drink while pregnant, it’ll raise your blood pressure, it could lead to obesity, and for God's sake don’t operate a bulldozer if you’ve had a drink. OK, that last one is pretty solid advice. But in this day and age when craft beer, bourbons, and Irish whiskeys are at the height of popularity, it’s difficult to stay within these guidelines.

Despite all these fancy reports perhaps it’s best just to go back to the same old adage that moderation in everything is good.

Cheers.