Coffee is a delicious drink with a signature scent and plenty of health benefits, including boosting energy, improving liver health, reducing stress and even helping to prevent life threatening diseases such as cancer.
It has been brewed for centuries, using freshly dried coffee beans originating from Africa and Asia, now boasting cultivation in over 70 tropical countries in the world. Coffee is the second most popular drink of all time, with water being the only thirst quencher to beat it.
It’s best taken in its purest, most organic form without adding too much fat, milk, sugar and syrups, and even better when brewed with filtered water. One to five cups per day has proven to do your body worlds of good, and is encouraged as a regular in your diet.
Here are 10 extraordinary health benefits of drinking coffee:
- It’s A Fat Free Fix
With its warm, roasted aroma and it’s inviting black swirls, coffee is an excellent replacement for fatty and sugary drinks. It contains zero fat and no cholesterol, which has proven to aid in weight loss efforts, especially if taken in its pure, black form.
- It Pumps up Your Energy Levels
The strength of coffee differs so much that it’s hard to say exactly how much caffeine you’re getting, but it’s a certainty that you are getting a healthy dose of it per cup. On average each cup of freshly brewed coffee contains about 100 milligrams of caffeine, with 500 being the recommendation for staying within health limits. Caffeine has been proven to stimulate your nerves and brain, leaving you more alert and energetic and ready to bounce back.
- It’s Low in Calories
As long as you’re not pumping your coffee full of cream, syrups, sugars and excessive amounts of whole milk, it’s an excellent low calorie beverage that can be guiltlessly sipped throughout the day. Each cup contains less than 5 calories, with each teaspoon of sugar adding 16 calories and a decent dash of milk adding about 50 calories. Fewer calories from beverages equal a slimmer, trimmer waistline, especially if coffee is replacing a previously naughty indulgence.
- It’s Full of Antioxidants
Coffee is packed with amazingly powerful antioxidants which have proven to reduce ageing, oxidative stress and disease in the body. According to Doctor Axe, a few cups of coffee a day accounts for up to 70% of your daily recommended amount of antioxidants, which makes it a great drink if you’re into longevity.
- It Balances Cholesterol
Filtered coffee contains powerful antioxidants known as kahweol and cafestol, and studies have shown that these compounds have a balancing effect on cholesterol levels. By reducing bad cholesterol (LDL) and balancing it out with good cholesterol (HDL) your cardiovascular system will live a longer and stronger life.
- It Boosts Brain Power
The rich source of antioxidants in each cup of coffee has been shown to boost cognitive response, increase memory retention and lift mental fog. The excellent dose of caffeine has also been linked to reduce Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other brain related illnesses. If you want better brain power, a cup of coffee can offer the exact support that you’re looking for.
- It Improves Athletic Performance
The caffeine in coffee has been proven to boost athletic performance so significantly that it actually has a legal limitation set for sport morality. Research has shown that coffee helps to gently elevate blood sugar, as well as giving nerves the firing power that they need for optimal performance.
- It Protects Your Liver
Alcohol induced liver cirrhosis kills over 1 million people per year worldwide, and studies have proven that coffee is the best antidote to prevent it. Coffee stimulates cell regeneration and allows scar tissue in the liver to heal, which has proven to be more beneficial for your health than most liver-support medications.
- It’s a Natural Diuretic
For sufferers of water retention and excess fluid in the body, coffee is a great way to beat it. The excellent dose of water, caffeine and anti-inflammatory compounds stimulates the release of excess fluids, leaving you leaner and more comfortable in every delicious cup.
- It Reduces Stress
Research has revealed that even the smell of coffee is enough to reduce stress levels, and while studies are not yet conclusive as to why this is so, it has revealed that coffee drinkers are 20% less stressed than non-coffee drinkers.
Disclaimer: Coffee comes in many forms and varieties, and its health benefits are most prominent in its purest, most natural form. Chicory, lattes and creamy cappuccinos will not have the same health benefits as freshly ground black coffee.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coffee
https://coffeeandhealth.org/all-about-coffee/nutrition-information/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caffeine
https://www.health.harvard.edu/family_health_guide/coffees-health-benefits
