A Cup of Health: Surprising Health Benefits of Coffee
For most people around the world, a good morning isn’t great at all if it doesn’t include a cup of coffee. While they may have managed to tap into coffee’s energy-boosting qualities, most of us are still unaware of the amazing impact coffee can have on our health. To get to know these health benefits and understand how exactly can they improve our physical wellness, here are some surprising health benefits coffee can have on your everyday life.
Coffee Improves Physical Performance
We all know how coffee can help us wake up in the morning. However, coffee can also improve physical performance by 11-12%. A cup of black coffee an hour prior to a workout, gradually increases adrenaline levels, due to the high amount of caffeine. Combined with the rush we experience during warm-up exercises, the surge of adrenaline triggers the “fight or flight” hormone, which prepares the body for physical exertion and increases muscle activity.
Coffee Can Help You Lose Weight
Caffeine also stimulates our body’s metabolic system. Instead of burning protein for fuel during physical exertion, caffeine “tells” our body to use fat. In response, the body then breaks up fat cells to use the naturally stored supply of energy, making us burn excess fat and lose weight in the process. Coffee is also naturally rich in magnesium and potassium. These minerals are responsible for stimulating the body’s use of insulin, which is responsible for regulating blood sugar levels, and this reduces our cravings for sugar, while at the same time stopping us from eating between meals.
Coffee Reduces the Chance of Fatal Illness
A Harvard study found that coffee consumption can lower the risk of premature death by as much as 25% in regular coffee drinkers. This is due to coffee’s incredible ability to reduce the chance of fatal illnesses. Drinking two to four cups of coffee a day was found to prevent the development of prostate and endometrial cancer as well as basal cell carcinoma. Additionally, caffeine increases blood flow, which improves our cardiovascular system, and prevents fatal problems like strokes and heart attacks.
Coffee Improves Your Mental Health
Regular coffee consumers drink coffee for its power to improve concentration. According to a recent study, this boost to mental sharpness can prevent mental illnesses like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. It decreases the amount by as much as 65%, due to the increase in neural activity in areas of the brain usually affected by the diseases. In addition, high levels of caffeine also improve neural pathways and synapses, which increase the flow of neurological signals. Since these signals are responsible for our cognitive processes, people who drink coffee feel an increase in concentration, thinking speed and problem-solving capacities.
Coffee Detoxifies Your Body
Freshly ground quality roasted black coffee beans contain beneficial antioxidants and no fat. Antioxidants fight and protect the body against free-forming radicals. Also, since it contains no fat, coffee is easily digestible and quickly passes through our bodies. This speed means that all the chemical benefits stored in coffee are easily absorbed by the colon, while the passing coffee speeds up the digestive tract, detoxifying our body in the process.
Coffee Brightens Your Mood
By stimulating the central nervous system, caffeine boosts the production of neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin. These chemicals trigger our body’s reward-motivating behaviour and are generally responsible for motivation, happiness and a sense of an elated mood. In turn, drinking just two cups of coffee a day can protect us from depression and keep us feeling good about ourselves and the world.
In addition to all these health benefits, it’s worth remembering that coffee is also a potent and tasty social drink. So, pick up the phone, and call that special someone for a cup of coffee – you will be doing both of you a healthy favour.
