Who doesn’t love coffee? Well, some of us, maybe.
We know at least one person that can go on with their day if they haven’t had their morning coffee. No wonder, as coffee is one of the most popular beverages there is.
Various studies about coffee have been done and researchers found that there are several benefits of coffee for our health. Let’s find out some of them!
Health Benefits of Coffee
Improving Your Energy Level and Reaction Times
As we all might already know, coffee has caffeine that can help people feel less tired and increase their energy levels. According to Healthline, caffeine is the most common psychoactive substance in the world.
After we consume coffee, our bloodstream will absorb the caffeine and take it to our brain. Caffeine will block the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine in the brain.
This will cause a stimulant effect that has proven to improve various aspects of brain functions. It can improve memory, mood, vigilance, energy levels, reaction times, as well as general mental function.
Fat Burning
Caffeine is one of the few natural substances proven to help with fat burning. Studies showed that caffeine can boost our metabolic rate by 3-11%.
Other studies also suggest that caffeine can increase fat burning by 10% in obese individuals and 29% in lean people.
Still, these effects may decrease over time in long-term coffee drinkers.
Improving Physical Performance
Caffeine can increase epinephrine (adrenaline) levels in our blood. This will prepare our bodies for intense physical exertion.
As we mentioned before, caffeine can burn fat, making free fatty acids available as fuel for the body. Therefore, caffeine can improve physical performance by 11-12% on average.
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Lowering The Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Studies showed that people who drink the most coffee have a 23-50% lower risk of getting type 2 diabetes. One study even showed a reduction as high as 67%.
Type 2 diabetes is characterized by elevated blood sugar levels caused by insulin resistance or a reduced ability to produce insulin.
Lowering The Risk of Alzheimer and Dementia
Have you ever heard of Alzheimer’s disease? This is the most common neurodegenerative disease that can lead to dementia.
People over 65 years old are usually more prone to this disease. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for this disease.
However, several different studies showed that drinking coffee may effectively lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by 65%.
Lowering The Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
Following Alzheimer’s disease as the most common neurodegenerative disease is Parkinson’s disease. This is caused by the death of dopamine-generating neurons in our brains.
There is no known cure for Parkinson’s disease as well. However, studies showed that caffeine can lower the risk of Parkinson’s disease by 32-60%.
Keeping The Liver Healthy
Several common diseases can affect our livers, such as hepatitis, fatty liver disease, and many more. These conditions can lead to cirrhosis, where our liver is largely replaced by scar tissue.
Interestingly, studies showed that coffee may be effective in protecting against cirrhosis. Drinking 4 or more cups of coffee per day can lower the risk of having liver problems.
Help To Combat Depression
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders that can affect people’s life quality tremendously. Studies found that about 4.1% of people in the US currently meet the criteria for clinical depression.
Interestingly, in a Harvard study published in 2011, women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee per day had a lower risk of becoming depressed by 20%.
Lowering The Risk of Certain Types of Cancer
Coffee appears to be effective in combating certain types of cancer, such as liver and colorectal cancer.
Liver cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. Meanwhile, colorectal cancer ranks fourth.
Studies have shown that regular coffee drinkers have up to a 40% lower risk of liver cancer.
In another study, it is shown that people who drink 4 to 5 cups of coffee per day had a lower risk of colorectal cancer up to 15%.
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Lowering Stroke Risk
Caffeine is claimed to have a role in increasing blood pressure. However, the effect is small and usually disappears over time if we drink coffee regularly as our body will adapt to the caffeine.
On the contrary, some studies showed that coffee drinkers have a 20% lower risk of stroke.
Who knows drinking coffee can be beneficial for our health, right? Just remember, don’t drink too much or the beneficial can turn into something detrimental.
Source: Kris Gunnars, BSc 2018, Healthline, accessed 6 December 2021, <https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-13-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7>