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There are two types of people in the world – the coffee drinkers and non-drinkers! Well, coffee is the most apt dynamic to divide the world’s population in these two popular categories.
Coffee is the world’s most popular beverage and is drank by a huge chunk of people every day. In 2015, the stats showed us that 64% of adult Americans drank coffee on an average of one cup every day. And the count is increasing ever since. Now, the numbers tell us that more than 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day. Out of these, 450 million are consumed alone in the USA.
No wonder Starbucks is doing so well.
Now, if you’re a coffee lover, you probably have your own specific taste and type of coffee that you like. This is why most people like brewing coffee on their own and make themselves a tasty cup in the morning.
Having said that, most coffee drinkers consume this beverage as their dose of caffeine to open up their eyes in the morning and get rid of their tired and sleepy head in the morning. Adult problems, you see!
With coffee being a morning drink and having a high level of caffeine in it, it has been seen that people get easily addicted to it. If a regular coffee drinker quits, they are bound to face withdrawal symptoms like severe headache, nausea, sleepiness, dizziness, and fatigue.
This is why, coffee drinkers can barely stay away from their favorite drink.
However, besides being a great source of caffeine, coffee also provides a whole slew of health benefits. So, the dilemma still stays whether the benefits provided by coffee are worth an addiction to this caffeinated beverage?
Let’s have a look at these benefits and decide:
Coffee has Antioxidants
Coffee is said to be one of the richest natural sources of antioxidants. There are about 1000 antioxidants found in coffee beans and after the processing of these beans, they gain a number of more antioxidants!
This property of coffee makes it an excellent beverage for treating inflammation. So, if you have conditions like arthritis and atherosclerosis, coffee can help you cure your inflammation.
Also, in certain cases of cancer, coffee is used to treat the inflammation and make the patient feel better. The richness of antioxidants also makes coffee a great drink to prevent heart diseases. So, brewing coffee is not so bad after all!
Coffee Lowers the Risk of Diabetes
Inducing our body’s ability to utilize and produce insulin, coffee regulates our blood sugar levels. The balance between blood and sugar inside the body minimizes the chances of diabetes.
Studies have shown that coffee drinkers have 50% less chances of getting diabetes. Coffee is also known to cut down body fat that is the main cause of obesity and thus, diabetes!
It also lowers the chances of toxic formation inside the body, which can also be a big cause of diabetes. So, if you don’t want to impede your sugar intake, drink coffee – it will help!
Coffee Improves Skin Health
A number of studies have shown that coffee improves the health of your skin in a number of ways. First, the regular consumption of coffee cuts down on toxins that are bad for your skin. Thus, skin purification is aided by coffee.
Coffee also induces the production of a protein enzyme called ATR, which helps in promoting better skin and preventing different types of skin cancers. It also kills the damaged skin cells inside the body, reducing the risks of such cells turning into cancer.
Thus, for a healthier skin in the longer run, drinking coffee can help you in many ways.
Coffee Reduces the Risk of Heart Disease
Coffee helps keep our heart healthy and thus, helps us live longer. As coffee has anti-inflammatory properties, it helps to prevent the heart from all the damage caused by artery damage. This property of coffee helps protect the heart from almost all the cardiovascular diseases like cardiac arrest, heart failure, hypertension, and more.
Studies have shown that coffee drinkers tend to live longer because of their healthy heart, which is promoted by the intake of coffee.
So, keep on brewing coffee and keep your heart happy and healthy!
Coffee Elevates Your Mood and Keeps You Active
If you need coffee to ‘wake up’ and ward off all the tiredness and fatigue of morning that means your body is addicted to the caffeine.
The caffeine in coffee boosts your mood and increases alertness. Coffee is known to block the inhibitory neurotransmitter in brain called the adenosine, which impedes the active working of body.
The antioxidants in coffee are also known to boost the mood and keep you away from depression. The elevated mood in turn improves your performance at work.
The fatty acids produced by coffee inside the body also make it easy for our body to burn fat. So, if you’re drinking coffee with a regular workout routine to reduce weight, you are most likely to achieve better results. It also improves your performance when you work out.
With all these benefits of coffee, one can say that it is a great beverage to add to your diet.
Coffee Addiction
Most coffee lovers whether they are aware of the benefits of coffee or not, are addicted to coffee. The reason behind this is the ‘kick’ that coffee gives them with its caffeine.
The caffeine helps you stay awake, active, and going through the day. Coffee drinkers find it hard to stay awake and active in lack of coffee. And this is the biggest sign that they’re addicted to coffee.
Coffee addiction is a common thing but it has its side-effects as well. The most common ones are:
- Increased blood pressure
- Increased stress levels
- Severe withdrawal symptoms
- Increased anxiety
- Increased HCL in stomach causing hyperacidity
- Heartburn
All these side effects make it clear that excess of everything is bad – even if it is a beneficial drink like coffee. So, if you’re addicted to coffee – reducing your daily coffee consumption would be a good idea. Keep reducing your daily cup-count till your reach 1-2 coffee cups every day. This way, you will be able to consume coffee, the healthy way.
If you’re already drinking just 1-2 cups of coffee per day, it is fine! Your body will only benefit from such an amount of coffee! Just make sure that you are brewing coffee in a normal manner and aren’t taking excess of it. If you don’t have a coffee pot just yet or are looking for a new one, check out some of these coffee brewers that are sure to make a great cup of coffee.
Anthony is a professional barista in the city of Chicago. He has written for many online publications on various topics related to coffee.
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