For a long time, we have been subjected to two different attitudes toward caffeine; the popular view, that it is addictive, makes one nervous, may cause cancer or heart disease. Then there are the scientific facts. That it may help PREVENT cancer and heart disease, among a small minority it may result in negative effects. Not taken to excess it is a valuable part of a good diet.

The facts keep intruding upon the popular misconceptions. On May 24, 2000, the Journal of the American Medical Association revealed that men who do not drink regular coffee are FIVE TIMES more likely to develop Parkinson's Disease than those who drink 4 1/2 to 5 1/2 cups a day!

Dr. Paul Carvey, Director of the Neuro-pharmacology Labs of Rush-Presbyterian Medical Center in Chicago, "....called the study important because it traced the benefits to caffeine 'and] showed similar effects with caffeine-laden foods other than coffee," according to an AP dispatch.

It was a ho-hum to many medical scientists. The Journal of Nutrition, July, l999, had published a report that certain liver injury may be prevented by coffee, although green tea was even better in this regard.

The Int. Journal of Immunopharmacology, June 2000, reported that caffeine prevented anaphylactic shock (severe reaction to a foreign substance,) in animal studies.

In Brain Research, Mar. 6, 2000, medical scientists revealed that the addictive
effect of caffeine was "very low."

And for brevity's sake we conclude with--although the beneficial studies could take up hundreds of pages--a report in Nutrition and Cancer, vol. 33, l999 on tested animals, "Oral administration of caffeine alone....as the sole source of drinking fluid for 18-23 weeks inhibited the formation of nonmalignant and malignant tumors, and...decreased tumor size in these high-risk 'animals.] That from the Dept. of Chemical Biology, Rutgers, State U. of N.J., Piscataway 08854-8020, USA.

FLASH! The N.Y. Times, which published the Parkinson's disease report on caffeine had a full page ad on the next page (coincidentally, no doubt,) for a drug for the disease, COMTRAN. Here are some of its side effects:
"....Uncontrolled movements, upset stomach, diarrhea...., decreased ability to move '!], dizziness,
constipation, tiredness, and pain. In rare instances, CONMTAN therapy may be associated with low blood pressure, muscular problems, high fevers, and severe diarrhea."

DETAILS: What medical scientists know is that a product of caffeine is caffeic acid, which has been shown to be anti-cancer. You can also get caffeic in apples and soybeans.