Your day by day cup of coffee can do more for you than early-morning pick-me-up. The health impact of coffee has long been controversial, with advocates recommending its antioxidant activity and ability to push the brain, and its detractors detailing the disadvantages such as indigestion, insomnia and increased heart rate and blood pressure. But the latest wave of scientific proof brings good news for coffee lovers. If you drink coffee daily it can give you some great health advantages
Here are 10 reasons to drink coffee daily that can be healthier for you than you thought.
1. Coffee is a powerful source of healthy antioxidants.
In fact, coffee showed more antioxidant activity that green tea and cocoa have, two antioxidant superstars. Scientists have determined about 1000 antioxidants in raw coffee beans and hundreds more are developed during the roasting procedure. Many studies have cited coffee as major and in some cases, the main food source of antioxidants for its subjects.
How it works: Antioxidants combat infections, an underlying source of many chronic diseases, such as atherosclerosis, arthritis and many forms of cancers. In addition, they neutralize free radicals, which take place naturally as part of the daily metabolic functions, but which can trigger oxidative stress that leads to chronic disease. Put it differently, antioxidants help us maintain healthy at the micro level, keeping safe our cells from damage. Ultimately, chlorogenic acid, an essential antioxidant occur almost exclusively in coffee, is also believed to help prevent cardiovascular disease.
2. Coffee can help protect against cognitive decline.
In addition to providing a nonpermanent increase of brain activity and memory, frequent coffee drinking can help stop cognitive decline connected with Alzheimer’s and other dementias. In a promising study, researchers found that drinking three to five cups of coffee a day at midlife was associated with 65 percent decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia in life more later. Interestingly, the authors of the study also measured the effect of tea consumption on cognitive decline, but found no connection.
How it works: There are various theories on how coffee can help prevent or protect against cognitive decrease. A working theory: Caffeine prevents beta-amyloid plaque accumulation can contribute to the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease. Researchers assume that because coffee consumption may be associated with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes, a risk factor for dementia, also decreases the risk of developing dementia.
3. Caffeine provides a short-term memory boost.
When a group of participants received a dose of 100 mg of caffeine, almost as much contained in a single cup of coffee, Austrian researchers found an increase in brain activity of volunteers as measured by functional magnetic resonance imagery (fMRI) as they conducted a memory task. The researchers found that the volunteers’ memory skills and reaction times containing caffeine were also improved compared to the control group that received a placebo and showed no elevation in brain activity.
How it works: Caffeine arise to affect certain areas of the brain accountable for memory and concentration, providing an improvement to short-term memory even though it is unclear how long the effect lasts or how it can vary from person to person.
4. Coffee is healthy for your heart.
A Dutch study, that analyzed data from more than 37,000 people over a 13-year period, discover that moderate coffee drinkers (who drank two to four cups a day) had a lower risk of 20 percent Heart disease compared with light or heavy coffee drinkers and non-drinkers.
How it works: It seems that coffee can support heart health by guarding against artery damage caused by infection.
5. Coffee can improve exercise performance.
We have been trained to believe that caffeine dehydrates, one of the main reasons why fitness experts recommend nixing coffee before and after training. However, recent research proposes that moderate consumption of caffeine – about 500 mg, or about five cups a day – does not dehydrate the exercises enough to impede with the workout. In addition, coffee helps fight fatigue, allowing you to exercise more.
How it works: Caffeine is an activator of performance and resistance; Not only fights fatigue, but also improves muscle contraction, reduces the perception of pain and increases fatty acids in the blood, supporting resistance.
6. Coffee can help reduce certain types of cancer.
Men who consume coffee may have a lower risk of developing aggressive prostate cancer. In addition, new research suggests that drinking four cups of coffee per day reduces 25 percent risk of endometrial cancer in women compared to women who drank less than one cup daily. The researchers also discovered links between regular coffee consumption and lower cancer rates of the liver, breast, colon and rectum.
How it works: Polyphenols, phytochemical antioxidants found in coffee, have shown anti-cancer properties in several studies and are thought to help reduce inflammation that may be responsible for other tumors.
7. Your liver likes coffee.
It is true. In addition to reducing the risk of liver cancer, coffee consumption has been associated with a lower incidence of cirrhosis, especially alcoholic cirrhosis. A study showed an inverse correlation between increased coffee drinking and lower risk of cirrhosis – a 20 percent decrease for each cup consumed (up to four cups).
How it works: Researchers discovered an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and blood levels of liver enzymes. Elevated liver enzyme levels usually reflect inflammation and liver damage. The more subjects consumed coffee, the lower the enzyme levels.
8. Coffee reduces depression.
Multiple studies have associatede coffee consumption to lower depression rates in men and women. In various studies, the data suggest an inverse relationship between coffee drinkers and depression: in other words, heavy coffee drinkers appeared to have the lowest risk of up to 20 percent of depression.
How it works: Researchers do not yet know how coffee appears to avoid depression, but caffeine is known to activate neurotransmitters that control mood, including serotonin and dopamine.
9. Coffee can reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
A research suggests a connection between coffee consumption and a lower risk of diabetes. A 2009 study discovered that the risk of developing diabetes decreased by 7 percent for each cup of coffee daily. Previous epidemiological reviews have reported that heavy coffee consumers – those who regularly drink four or more cups a day – had a lower risk of 50 percent to develop diabetes than light consumers or non-drinkers.
How it works: Scientists assume that coffee can be beneficial for diabetes delay in several ways: (1) helping the body to use insulin and protect insulin producing cells, allowing for effective regulation of sugar in the blood ; (2) preventing damage to tissue; (3) and combat inflammation has been found a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes that a coffee component known as caffeic acid is particularly important in reducing the toxic accumulation of abnormal protein deposits (amyloid fibrils) in people with decaffeinated type 2 diabetes is believed to be so beneficial, or more, than usual.
Note: It appears that coffee decreases the sensitivity of muscle to the effects of insulin producing cells, which can affect the metabolism of sugar and increase blood sugar levels. However, the importance of this finding does not yet known.
10. Coffee protects against gout.
Independent studies on coffee drinking habits of men and women suggest that consuming regular coffee lower the risk of developing gout. Researchers examined the health habits of nearly 90,000 female nurses over a 26-year period and found a positive connection between long-term coffee drinking and a lower risk of the gout. The benefit was linked with regular and decaffeinated consumption: women who drank more than four cups of ordinary coffee a day had a 57 percent decreased risk of gout; The risk of gout decreased by 22 percent in women who drank one to three cups a day; And a cup of decaffeinated coffee a day was associated with a reduced risk of 23 percent decline compared to women who do not drink coffee at all. Similar results were documented for men: another large-scale study found that men who drank four to five cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of gout by 40 percent and those who consumed six or more cups reduced the risk of gout by 60 percent.
How it works: According to the study, the antioxidant properties of coffee can reduce the risk of gout by reducing insulin, which reduces the level of uric acid.
Disadvantages of Drinking Coffee
Health benefits of drinking coffee are great news, but it doesn’t mean drinking more is better. For some people, coffee can cause nervousness, irritability or anxiety at high doses, and can also affect the quality of sleep and cause insomnia. In people with hypertension, drinking coffee transiently increases the blood pressure, but not more than a few hours, but no connection has been found between coffee consumption and a long-term blood pressure increase or occurence of cardiovascular disease in patients with pre-existing hypertension.
Caffeine affects each person differently, so if you encounter negative side effects, consider reducing your coffee intake accordingly. It takes about six hours for the caffeine to wear off its effects, limit drinking coffee early in the day, or switching to decaf, containing about 2 to 12 mg of caffeine per eight ounces. Always reduce coffee intake gradually. Avoid quitting coffee cold turkey; this can result in caffeine withdrawal symptoms that may include muscle aches, severe headaches and fatigue that can last for days.
How to stay healthy
So how much coffee is healthy, and how much is too much? Two to three cups of eight ounces per day is considered moderate; Large consumers of coffee consume four or more cups per day. Remember, the quantity of caffeine per coffee drink varies depending on the preparation and style of the drink. Eight ounces of brewed coffee can consist of as little as 80 to 200 mg of caffeine each cup.
Your best bet: Pass the sweetened coffee drinks and ask for a basic black coffee. You can also switch to whole milk or soy-free milk or nut milk.
Note: As much as we all love coffee, it is vital to identify that even the most meticulous scientific studies are prone to biases, especially those looking at something so expensive and economically important as coffee, so, of course, enjoy your morning routine, but interpret these results with caution.
