Daily Coffee - Friend or Foe?

As I sit here this morning drinking my daily cup of coffee, I thought I would share the mental debate that I am having with myself.

I have about a 12 ounce cup of coffee every morning. It is my start button - I love it, enjoy it, look forward to it and can't think of my morning without the ritual.

I have family/friends/even some medical advice that tells me that I should eliminate all caffeine (and alcohol, artificial sweeteners, soft cheese...everyone knows the list goes on and on) from my diet. Unless I take an Excedrin or splurge on an iced tea or little piece of chocolate, I don't consume any more caffeine than my daily cup of coffee in my diet.

In the mornings, I often wake with a migraine that teeters on going full blown or staying as an annoyance. I feel that coffee helps me with that. It dilates my blood vessels, gets things moving in my system and I often feel my migraine stay as just an annoyance because of my cup of coffee. My mother (bless her heart...) tells me that headaches can be controlled by the power of the mind and if I was a stronger person mentally, I could do that myself (with or without coffee).

I've read through so many blogs, websites, opinions, research...BLAH. I think it is up to the individual. If someone thinks that I have a constant migraine because I have 12 ounces of coffee everyday, that is their opinion. I have mine so I will drink my coffee, I will love it and maybe some other day I will think about replacing it with decaf.