I don’t drink coffee. Don’t like the taste, though I find the smell pleasant.

However, I was looking up stuff on the caffeine in coffee (web sources range from 85-115 mg per cup) and the benefits of it. I mean, if I’m having to take caffeine, why? Is it all bad? All good? A mixed bag?

I don’t know if straight caffeine works the same way as coffee (though I hope so), but this site says that coffee can cut your risk of Type 2 Diabetes. If you are a woman and have 6 cups or more a day, your risk is cut by 30%.

One of the reasons I want to lose weight is health. And one of the more easily identified health problems I want to avoid is Type 2 diabetes. Both my grandmothers had it. Both my mom and mother-in-law have it. My brother has it. I don’t want to go there. So that is interesting.

Especially in light of the recommendations on the bottle of caffeine, which say not to exceed three doses a day. Which is three cups of coffee. Of course, QWLC says I can have two cups of coffee in addition to the caffeine pills. Plus all the decaf I want, even though decaf has 3 mg of caffeine.

Unfortunately, while the caffeine lowers your risk of Parkinson’s by up to 80%, it’s the coffee that helps with the diabetes. Tea won’t do it. Decaf coffee will. Drats.

Should I attempt to take up coffee? Ugh.

Maybe I can drink it Brazilian style, in a shot glass with as much caffeine as we put in a single cup. There my two tablespoons of milk might actually have some impact.

Coffee also helps your liver and gallbladder. This study says the caffeine can help stop asthma attacks as well.

I am not worried about my liver, gallblader, or asthma (which I don’t have), but I still might have to take it up for the diabetes thing.

Looks like, since I don’t want to take up coffee, my next best choice is to take up green tea. I think I can probably handle that. And I’ll just have to keep working on the weight to scare of the bugbear of Type 2 diabetes.