Ahh… don’t we all love our morning cuppa joe. Well, most of us anyway. This ‘miracle brew’ has been consumed for centuries and many of us can’t start our day without it.
It’s a guilty pleasure, but there’s good news – Coffee is healthy! Finally, a ‘food’ that’s tasty and healthy too. Imagine that!
There are 3 points to note though:
Firstly, coffee contains caffeine and too much of it can cause anxiety in some people. So, moderation is key here.
Secondly, caffeine has a half life of 3 to 5 hours. What that means is that if you consume a cup of coffee at 3pm, your body would only have eliminated half the caffeine by 8pm.
The remaining caffeine in your system can cause insomnia. So, it’s best not to consume any caffeine after 1pm.
The final point to note – depending on how you consume your coffee, you should be aware of the amount of sugar in your drink.
If you drink it black (recommended), you’re safe – but if you’re drinking coffees with cream and sugar and other additives, it’s important to monitor your sugar intake. Coffees can cause weight gain if they are chockful of sugar.
Now let’s look at the health benefits of coffee…
1. Rich in Antioxidants
“What? Antioxidants? Are you serious? I thought only broccoli had them!”
Guess what? Coffee is rich in antioxidants such as chlorogenic acid, trigonelline, quinine, caffeine, phenylalanine and so on.
While you don’t need to get into the medical terminology, it helps to know that coffee is beneficial to your health and it’s these antioxidant properties that will help remedy the other issues mentioned below.
“Coffee, the favorite drink of the civilized world.” – Thomas Jefferson
2. Prevents Cavities
The antiadhesive and antibacterial properties of coffee inhibits the growth of organisms on your gums and teeth that lead to decay. Coffee is like a form of daily dental care.
“But even a bad cup of coffee is better than no coffee at all” – David Lynch
3. Prevents Diabetes and Depression
The antioxidants in coffee helps to reduce glucose and insulin levels in your body. Once you control your blood sugar levels, you’ll prevent prediabetes from setting in. If you already have diabetes, coffee can still help – but you’ll need to watch your sugar.
Coffee also improves your mood. The caffeine in coffee is a psychostimulant. Not only does it increase your alertness and reduces fatigue, but it blocks the chemical in your brain that cause you to feel depressed.
This is one reason why energy drinks are so popular. They not only seem to ‘provide energy’, but also make you feel happier and more energetic. The difference here is that most energy drinks are unhealthy and contain too much caffeine whereas coffee is healthy.
As long as there was coffee in the world, how bad could things be? – Cassandra Clare
4. Reduces Stress in the Body
Coffee helps reduce the oxidative damage in the body because the antioxidants will repair the damage caused by free radicals. Inflammation in the body will decrease. When this happens, your cholesterol levels will drop too.
Studies have shown that inflammation is the root cause of high cholesterol levels. So, coffee actually boosts your heart health too. It just keeps getting better by the minute.
It’s amazing how the world begins to change through the eyes of a cup of coffee – Donna A. Favors
5. Improves Brain Health
Coffee helps prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia. While studies are still being conducted to see how coffee impacts age-related cognitive decline, it’s a good idea to drink your daily cup of coffee just to be safe. It doesn’t hurt to be cautious.
Besides the 5 benefits mentioned above, there are many more that we’ll not go into in the interest of brevity. The benefits of coffee would fill up an entire book. That’s how potent it is.
It helps improve performance during exercise. It cleanses the stomach. Coffee also prevents cancer and aids in weight loss. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Drink one or two cups of coffee a day and embrace the health benefits this aromatic brew brings with it.
The powers of a man’s mind are directly proportional to the quantity of coffee he drinks – Sir James MacKintosh