If Coffee Healthy? Reasons why you should give it a try

                                                              

                                                            photo credit: Society Coffee
                                                              

Some love it, while others can’t even smell it. Yes, we are
talking about coffee. However, if you are one of her supporters, you will
surely agree with us that there is nothing better than a morning cup of freshly
ground and roasted coffee.

There are many ways to prepare and customize it. Whether you
fall in love with a latte, cappuccino or espresso, you’re probably wondering if
coffee has some beneficial effects in addition to great taste. I have a simple
answer - yes. And there are a lot of them.

I will summarize the most important benefits of drinking
coffee for health, weight loss and other areas of life. Perhaps we can also convince
that a cup of coffee is sometimes not a bad idea at all.

What does
coffee contain?

We probably won’t surprise you with the fact that coffee
contains caffeine, which can stimulate the body. This is probably the main
reason why a coffee machine is your first stop in the morning after waking up.

Coffee itself contains virtually no calories. But that can
change pretty quickly if you upgrade it with sugar, sweet syrups, milk, cream,
or even whipped cream. A calorie-free drink can easily become a calorie bomb
that energetically matches the value of lunch. So if you don’t want coffee to
affect your weight loss progress, enjoy it as it is, or with a little milk.

How much
caffeine can we consume per day?

If you follow the general recommendations regarding caffeine
intake, you can consume up to 400 mg per day. This amount is found in about 5
cups of coffee (espresso, cappuccino or latte). For instant coffee, you can add
another cup.

When it comes to drinking coffee, it should also be borne in
mind that we humans are different and therefore also different in our response
to caffeine. Some can drink a cup of coffee in the evening and fall asleep in
an hour, while others have trouble sleeping even a few hours after drinking
coffee.

This should be considered in the overall picture and if you
have trouble sleeping after caffeine, it is recommended that you treat yourself
to coffee in the morning from any reputed coffee shop in your area.

7 main
benefits of coffee

Once we know what coffee contains, what its optimal intake
is, and how many calories it can have when you add more sugar to it, it’s time
to move on to its benefits. Coffee not only tastes great, but also has a
positive effect on body function, health, weight loss and other areas of your
life.

 1. Improves
physical performance

The results of the meta-analysis show that caffeine in
general can increase performance by about 11%, which is certainly not a
negligible value. This is mainly due to its ability to slow down fatigue and
stimulate the central nervous system.

According to other research, for example, endurance athletes
are said to benefit from the effects of caffeine in coffee by allowing them to
last longer. This research also serves as evidence that lower doses of caffeine
also make sense.

2. Help increase
performance

However, the effect of caffeine in relation to performance
has also been shown in team sports. Acute caffeine intake at doses of 3 to 6 mg
per kg body weight affected several aspects related to physical performance in
team sports.

Participants increased the distance traveled, increased the
number of sprints, shortened the time required to complete the agility test,
and even increased the height of individual and repetitive jumps. Therefore, we
can assume that caffeine could also have a positive effect on sports such as
football or basketball.

With regard to performance, we must not forget to mention
another important indicator, namely the level of perceived effort. Research has
shown that different types of exercise after caffeine consumption reduced the
level of subjectively perceived exertion by 5.6%.

3. Improves mental
performance

This will be of particular interest to you if you are going
to be working with your head or if you are having an important meeting, job
interview, presentation or other event during which you want to be maximally
concentrated. The results of studies show that coffee can to some extent
improve mental performance, shorten reaction time, increase cognitive alertness,
and improvement has also been confirmed in tasks that require long-term
concentration.

This improvement in long-term concentration and reaction
time relative to caffeine intake has also been confirmed by other studies.

4. It fills you with
energy

As already mentioned, coffee contains caffeine, which is
considered to be the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the
world. Caffeine can block the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine in our
body, resulting in drowsiness, malaise and fatigue.

In this regard, caffeine is able to temporarily suppress
fatigue. Because of this, you feel like you have received a new wave of energy
that allows you to concentrate, learn, or engage in more physically demanding
activities again. Caffeine increases both physical and mental performance

5. Helps with weight
loss

The caffeine contained in coffee is also a common ingredient
in fat dissolvers. And this is not unusual. It can accelerate the production of
body heat and thus the amount of calories consumed. It can also raise blood
pressure and heart activity, making us more excited about exercise and
consuming more energy, which in turn increases the number of calories burned.

So if you want to use coffee as a “fat dissolver”, be smart.
Don’t expect it to be enough to drink a cup of coffee on the couch and a
miracle will happen and you’ll be as slender as a twig by morning. Instead, try
a small espresso from a good coffee shop in your area before
your workout that won’t bother your stomach, and use it to wake you up and help
you make the most of your workout.

In this way, you increase the number of calories burned and
you have the opportunity to facilitate the weight loss process. Coffee and
caffeine help burn fat, speed up metabolism and lose weight.

6. It can make you
happy

Coffee can make you happy for several reasons. The first is
the fact that caffeine present can improve mood and subjective levels of
perceived anxiety. Another study even finds that drinking 4 or more cups a day
reduces the risk of suicide.

The question, however, is to what extent other factors that
were not included in the study also play a role. Similarly, researchers in a
long-term study found that higher coffee intake reduced the risk of developing
depression.

This brings us to another reason how coffee can make us
happy, and that is the opportunity when we enjoy it. Who wouldn’t be in the
mood for morning coffee on the sun terrace? Even a cup of coffee that you drink
alone in the afternoon can improve your mood, especially if you relax during a
busy day.

Simply in connection with your mood, it is not necessarily
just the effect of coffee or caffeine itself. The situation or person you are
enjoying this drink with can also play a role.

7. It has a positive
effect on health

Due to its composition, coffee has a positive effect on many
areas related to health. Of course, coffee alone will not completely save you.
Ideally, it should be part of a balanced diet supplemented by regular physical
activity. Only then can you fully support its potential. However, it already
has certain effects in itself.

Check my blog to get know more about coffee
related topic.