Some of you out there may have heard the rumor that coffee is actually more helpful to your health than harmful.  And guess what, vast research shows that this may be more truth than rumor.  According to WebMD, coffee may actually help lower the risks of diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and colon cancer.  They even speculate that coffee can be used to treat headaches and lift your mood, as well as lower the risk of forming cavities.  Take Parkinson’s disease for example; the link between coffee and Parkinson’s disease is fascinating. Let’s first take a look at Parkinson’s disease and what it is.  Parkinson’s disease is a disorder that affects millions of people and can be found in all ethnic groups and in both men and women equally.  The disease occurs when neurons lose their ability to function normally in the substantia nigra part of the brain.  These neurons that degenerate contain dopamine, a neurotransmitter.  The degeneration subsequently causes dopamine levels to fall and the balance between dopamine and other neurotransmitters in the brain is thrown off.  The imbalance between the neurotransmitters affects the way muscles work and leads to movement problems, including trembling of the legs and arms, coordination, involuntary movements and speaking difficulties among many.  These symptoms tend to surface after about 80% of the dopamine-producing neurons have been damaged.  There is no known cause of Parkinson’s disease.  While there are treatments to help in controlling the symptoms of the disease, there is no known cure as of yet.  So how does coffee figure in?  In layman’s terms, it’s probably the caffeine of the coffee.  The natural antioxidants of the coffee are a bonus as well.  In more scientific terms, caffeine is part of the xanthine chemical group.  Adenosine is a naturally occurring xanthine in the brain that acts as a neurotransmitter in some synapses.  When adenosine receptors are blocked, the levels of dopamine increase.  Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors and in doing so, increases the amount of dopamine in the brain.  In a nutshell, caffeine affects dopamine levels.  In fact, consumption of caffeine from other sources such as green tea, chocolate and soda all affect Parkinson’s disease; however, out of these, coffee has been recognized by many experts as the number one source of antioxidants, outranking chocolate and tea.  Reviewing some of the studies that have been performed on the link between coffee and Parkinson’s disease, the overwhelming findings indicate that the incidence of the disease is much lower in people (specifically men) who drank coffee vs. those who did not.  While the study concludes that coffee overall impacts men and women in a positive way, there is some confusion over the role it plays in women and how hormone levels in women may affect this.  In one of the studies, it conclusively showed that men who drank the most coffee were the least likely to develop Parkinson’s disease and the men who did not drink any coffee were five times more likely to display symptoms of Parkinson’s disease than those who drank 28+ ounces of coffee each day.  In another study, those who drank 10+ cups of coffee per day had a 74% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.  If you don’t drink ten cups of coffee each day, don’t fret!  Even those drinking only one cup per day gain some benefit.  While this story absolutely is not meant to take the place of any physician, one must admit that it gives you something to consider.  Coffee therapy, anyone?