You are not alone if life does not begin before your first cup of coffee. The health benefits of coffee have been mixed over the years but with more and more research on this delicious beverage the odds are in favor of enjoying coffee daily.
The ritual of a drink of coffee is pure perfection. This experience is enjoyed in over 2.2 billion cups worldwide daily as the world’s second most consumed beverage in the world after tea. Coffee such as the top quality coffee provided by Coffee Selectors contains riboflavin, potassium, niacin, magnesium and is abundant in antioxidants and other plant chemicals.
On top of all these health benefits the ability to wake you up in the morning is the reason most choose this beverage. Caffeine has an ability to reduce tiredness and improved alertness. It blocks the neurotransmitter in your brain called adenosine and increases the activity of norepinephrine and dopamine. This can improve your mood, cognitive function and reaction time.
A strong study assessing over 12000 studies showed some of the positive effects of moderate coffee intake (3-4 cups of coffee a day or 400mg of caffeine) can include:
- Type 2 Diabetes – Coffee drinkers have 2 times reduced risk of developing type 2 Diabetes.
- Cancer – Reduced risk of liver and endometrial cancer. Also mouth, larynx and pharynx. Drinking coffee is not linked to increased risk of any cancer.
- Reduced risk of death compared to non-coffee drinkers. Good news Decaff has the same effects showing it may not be the caffeine in coffee but the other nutrients in coffee which may increase your lifespan.
- Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer’s disease – reduced risk. Those who already have Parkinson’s disease, drinking coffee showed improvements in movement ability. Reducing muscle stiffness and motor ability.
- Depression- Reduced symptoms.
If you are interested in sport performance, coffee also improves sports performance. It acts as a neuromuscular stimulant; in other words, you can work harder for longer and with more power. Around 3-5mg/kg body weight is recommended for improvements in performance and taken shortly before an event to gain the benefits.
Not everyone responds to coffee the same and is due to a gene sequence called CYP1A2. Meaning you could be a rapid or a slow responder to caffeine. The rapid responder to caffeine seems to be those who benefit more from using caffeine as a stimulant for performance and health.
If you are in these special groups take note:
- If you are pregnant no caffeinated coffee during this time is the best choice, with a maximum of 200mg of caffeine while pregnant and 300mg if breastfeeding.
- If you have high blood pressure and are not used to drinking coffee this can have a negative effect on your blood pressure.
- Too much coffee and caffeine can increase the risk of insomnia (coffee has a half-life of 6 hours), anxiety, jitteriness and can exacerbate panic attacks.
Take home message: Keep enjoying up to 400mg (3-4 cups of coffee) a day as a healthy habit. The best quality coffee I recommend comes from Australian owned Coffee Selectors.
Reference:
Pourshahidi, L.K., Navarini, L., Petracco, M. and Strain, J. (2016), A Comprehensive Overview of the Risks and Benefits of Coffee Consumption. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEWS IN FOOD SCIENCE AND FOOD SAFETY, 15: 671-684. doi:10.1111/1541-4337.12206
