[djmcmath]

There have been a number of studies showing positive health effects due to caffeine, mostly done in Italy and France, where they do coffee a little differently than we do here. Coffee, like wine, is healthy, when consumed in moderation -- something like 2 cups per day, or a shot or two of espresso per day. The most memorable effect I remember from the list was like a 50% reduction in the probability of Type II diabetes in men, and like a 40% reduction in Type II diabetes in women.

There was another study that showed that caffeine is a catalyst for the deposit of calcium on dendrites in the brain (or something like that), the upshot of which was that people who had reasonable levels of caffeine in their systems had been long-term knowledge retention.

Of course, there's also the short term effects: increased focus and concentration, speed of thought processes, shorter tempers and quicker wits, and dehydration.

I find that two shots of espresso in the morning gets my system rolling. I then drink lots of water the rest of the day to counteract the dehydration.

Just my $.02.

Dan