Although it might seem cynical to say that natural disasters and the fear of terrorism are good things for economy, when it comes to the emergency medical supplies industry, there’s no denying it. It wasn’t all that long ago that businesses catering to emergency needs hardly even extended their services to consumers. Emergency medical supplies were almost entirely a wholesale enterprise. These companies sold in bulk to hospitals, clinics, cruise ships and the like. Most supplies sold to the ordinary man on the street tended to be those things that the ordinary man on the street didn’t really need. Emergency medical supplies at the retail level were almost exclusively the domain of the adventurer who would be camping in the wilderness or climbing a mountain. How times have changed.

One of the boom businesses back then was the bomb shelter industry. Just as someone might knock on your door trying to sell you aluminum siding today, it wasn’t unusual for a door-to-door salesman to try to sell your grandparents a hiding place from a nuclear warhead. While it may seem silly today, is it really all the different from internet sites selling gas masks. There’s nothing wrong with being prepared. And certainly it doesn’t hurt to have as well stocked a collection of emergency medical supplies on hand as you can afford. But it also doesn’t hurt to step back and take a little time for reflection before purchasing supplies that you may be buying strictly out of an irrational fear. Americans are living under a looming shadow of a terrorist threat and that has—cynical or not—spurred thousands of people to start up companies that aim to quickly cash in on that fear. The truth is, however, that America faces far more dangerous threats than terrorism. If you really want to protect yourself by arming yourself with emergency medical supplies, then hold back on buying that gas mask until after you’ve bought some batteries for your fire alarm, or until after you’ve replaced your old lead pipes or upgraded your old PVC pipes. There are a lot of medical dangers facing you today. But just because you saw a TV report on somebody dying from Avian flu in China doesn’t mean you need to immediately go out and stock up on emergency medical supplies that will keep you safe from it.

For those who routinely greet a beeping alarm clock with a shriek of denial, coffee is more than a welcoming morning drink: it’s a way of life. But, even for those not in need of an intervention by the Hills Brothers, coffee can be filled with lots of benefits, lots of health benefits.

In the past years, no one thought of coffee as a drink that could filter out illness. Instead, it was thought of merely as a drink that gave exhausted people a latte pep. But, it turns out it might not just be a bean; it may also be a magical bean.

Now, before we continue, it’s important to point out that consuming large amounts of coffee is not without its risks. Like too much of anything, overindulging in coffee can lead to problems. Coffee can stain teeth, cause high blood pressure, and lead to constipation, nervousness, heart palpations, and sleep changes. The high amount of caffeine can also lead to osteoporosis, and the inability to absorb certain nutrients. Still, for many people, the benefits of coffee outweigh the risks and a mug or two is a morning, afternoon, and evening ritual.

Those who drink coffee regularly may find a decreased risk of diabetes and cirrhosis of the liver. It can decrease the risk of diabetes 2 by up to half (especially for those who consume several cups a day) and can decrease the incidence of cirrhosis by up to at least forty or fifty percent. Some studies suggest the more coffee consumed, the less chance of cirrhosis forming.

Coffee, though its caffeine content can speed up the heart rate, can also help people to “beat” heart disease. Possibly because it removes excess lipids from the blood stream or maybe because of its stimulant effects, those who consume coffee have a lower rate of cardiovascular disease. Parkinson’s disease is another ailment coffee grounds: studies have shown that those who drink more than three cups of coffee per day significantly decrease their chances of getting Parkinson’s. Along these lines, lifetime coffee drinkers, as opposed to those who only occasionally drink it, have a largely decreased incidence of Parkinson’s.

Among other benefits of coffee are prevention of gout, anti-cancer elements, reduction of dental cavities, and cognitive enhancements. Those with coffee in mind have less chance of developing Alzheimer’s and do largely better with short term memory recall and reaction time. Some tests indicate that coffee even increases IQ, allowing coffee drinkers to brag to tea drinkers about being smarter.

When it comes to health, coffee is a rising star (bucks). With recent findings, it plays a role in health: vigor is in coffee’s (java) script. Simply stated, those who regularly indulge in cups of Joe are likely to see wellness brewing.