Author: David Kelley
There are many health benefits of coffee including better functioning of the brain
Coffee. Even the name is energizing, isn't it? What would a routine morning, or a cold night, or a trip to… anywhere feel like without coffee? A mere cup can perk you up and soothe you like nothing else. But aren't most of the things that you crave incidentally bad for your health?
Not coffee. More and more studies are showing that coffee is actually better for your health than you might have thought. Coffee's health benefits include protection from many damaging conditions, including heart disease and Alzheimer's disease. Coffee not only contains caffeine; coffee has antioxidants, beneficial nutrients, and other active substances that guard and protect your body against many types of diseases and reduce internal inflammation.
Here are some health benefits of coffee:
Lowers the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a serious health condition that currently affects millions of people worldwide. It is caused by high sugar levels in the blood due to the body's inability to secrete insulin or due to insulin resistance. A number of studies have shown that people who drink coffee have a significantly lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes.
One study found 4-cup daily coffee consumption to lower risk of type 2 diabetes by 30% (compared to black tea that reduced the risk by only 14%). A review of 18 studies with a huge sample size of 457,922 people showed that the risk of getting type 2 diabetes is lowered by 7% with just one cup of coffee a day.
A Big Source of Antioxidants
The amount of antioxidants in coffee is so great that, at least in the West, there is no bigger dietary source of it. For people who have a standard Western diet, coffee is one of the most beneficial and healthy beverages a person could consume. Studies have gone as far as to suggest that many people do not get as many antioxidants from vegetables and fruits combined as they do from drinking coffee.
Due to the high number of antioxidants, it is safe to say that coffee is not only the most popular beverage in the world but might be the healthiest too.
Lowers the Risk of Stroke and Prevents Heart Diseases
One of coffee's health benefits is that it prevents heart diseases and lowers the risk of stroke. It is a popular and true belief that caffeine can increase your blood pressure, but what is not known by many is that the amount by which it does so is a mere 3 to 4 mm/Hg and that this effect dissipates by drinking the beverage regularly. There are some benefits of caffeine as well (discussed below) that swiftly kick this high blood pressure risk out of the park.
Studies prove that coffee is not associated with higher risks of heart diseases and, on the contrary, there are scientific pieces of evidence that show that coffee reduces the risk of heart ailments, especially among women. Coffee consumers also have a reduced risk of stroke by as much as 20%.
Lowers the Risk of Parkinson's
A person gets Parkinson's disease when the neurons in their brain, responsible for generating dopamine, die out. It is the second most common, after Alzheimer's, neurodegenerative condition in the world. Parkinson's disease does not have a cure yet which makes it even more important to do everything one can to prevent it.
Studies show that the high caffeine in the coffee reduces the risk of Parkinson's disease by 32 to 60%. People who drink decaf, however, do not benefit from this risk reduction.
Lowers the Risk of Alzheimer's and Dementia
Another of the health benefits of coffee is that it lowers the risk of Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Alzheimer's mostly affects people aged over 65. It is the leading cause of dementia and is the most common neurodegenerative disease. The condition has no known cure and can be prevented through exercise, a healthy diet, and coffee consumption.
There are several studies that indicate that regular coffee intake can reduce the risk of Alzheimer's disease by as much as 65%.
Increases Smartness and Energy Levels
Caffeine is the most commonly used psychoactive substance in the world. It is a stimulant that gets absorbed in the bloodstream and reaches the brain, making you feel energetic and less tired. It blocks the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine in the brain, increasing the amounts of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine, leading to an enhanced neuron firing.
Studies have shown that coffee consumption is responsible for improving and enhancing a number of functions of the human brain like reaction time, vigilance, mood, energy levels, memory, and general mental function.
Health benefits of coffee include prevention of depression
Helps in Lowering Depression
4.1% of the total population of the United States is clinically depressed. It's a serious mental illness that has severe negative implications for your quality of life and everything you do. Drinking 4 or more cups of coffee a day reduces your chances of getting affected by depression by 20% and the risk of committing suicide by 53%.
Coffee Helps Burn Fat
Caffeine is one of the few proven natural substances that help in burning fat. It can boost your metabolic rate by 3% to 11% and increase fat-burning by 10% to 29%.
Lowers the Risk of Liver and Colorectal Cancers
Cancer is caused by the uncontrolled growth of cells in one's body and is the leading global cause of death. Studies indicate that consuming coffee can help lower the risk of getting liver cancer by 40% and colorectal cancer by 15%.
The coffee beans are full of healthy and beneficial nutrients that make their way to your cup of brewed coffee. A single cup of coffee can contain:
- 2% of the RDI of Niacin and Magnesium or Vitamin B3
- 6% of the RDI of Pantothenic Acid or Vitamin B5
- 11% of the RDI of Riboflavin or Vitamin B2
- 3% of the RDI of Potassium and Manganese
The amounts of these nutrients add up if you consume more than one cup in a single day. Studies also indicate that coffee health benefits include helping people to live longer. Long term studies (18 to 24-year follow ups for men and women respectively) showed that coffee consumption lowered the risk of death by 20% for men and by 26% for women and that this percentage rose to 30% in people with diabetes.
It is quite pleasing to discover that something you enjoy every sip of gives you so many health benefits and potentially increases your life span.
And, of course, longer life means you can enjoy more cups of coffee.
Be sure to shop Two Bit Rush Coffee Roasters' coffees. We offer a selection of single origin coffees, curated blends, and flavored coffees. Roasted daily and delivered fresh.
