Category Archives: Health

A New Benefit Of Coffee

I started drinking coffee regularly a few weeks ago (that is, pretty much every morning when I’m home, though I’ve never actually brought myself to purchase a cup when away from home), primarily for medicinal reasons. I still don’t like the stuff that much, and can take or leave it. But one side effect I discovered, as a result of my latest dental visit, is that my teeth are much cleaner. I noticed that my cleaning was much faster than usual, and my hygienist told me that there was less to clean. I attribute this to the fact that I am brushing twice as often as I used to, because I feel a need to do so after drinking the coffee in the morning (I generally skip breakfast otherwise), partly to get rid of the after taste, and partly to prevent teeth staining. I was particularly motivated about the latter after seeing how hard it is to clean coffee stains from our white porcelain cups.

My Father

I just realized he would have been ninety years old today, if he hadn’t died over a third of a century ago, at 55. He had a terrible lifestyle — he smoked most of his life, was overweight, and had a bad diet, exacerbated by horrible nutritional advice (low-fat, grains) after his first heart attack at age 45. I’ve outlived him now, with no signs of coronary problems, but I’ve never smoked, and never been (much) overweight. I’m hoping that I’ll live to be at least ninety, and if I can make it that far, I suspect I’ll go far beyond, barring accidents or massive social upheaval.