With coffee being the most consumed beverage in the world, there is no secret how much we love it. Aside from the wonderful smell and taste, most people assume it’s so loved for the ability to give you that well-known caffeine jolt to start your day.
That’s not the only reason why coffee is so loved. Its been shown time and time again that there are so many advantages to consuming that cup of java each day besides just the pick me up you get from it. Coffee can actually make you healthier.
Here’s 5 reason why you should drink coffee everyday.
a) Coffee Increases Energy
Caffeine is a mild stimulant that speeds up the messages being sent between the brain and our body. The caffeine you get from coffee starts up the central nervous system, which can make you feel energized by attaching to adenosine receptors and blocking them from keeping you bogged down.
Adenosine is responsible for making you sleepy, so you would want the caffeine in your coffee to keep this from happening.
Coffee also increases epinephrine levels in your blood due to the caffeine, which can make your physical performance better by making you want to get going. It can strengthen the contraction of your muscles and increase fatty acids in your blood, which helps support physical endurance.
b) Mental Focus Enhanced
If you are wanting to be more productive at work, coffee could be your answer. When your brain is stimulated by coffee, it could also get your creative juices flowing. Being able to stay focused and be productive is a very attractive quality in the workplace.
There is, on average, 100 milligrams of caffeine in a cup of coffee, and this will increase your brain activity and short-term memory. Go ahead and have that coffee break with your coworkers; your boss will thank you later.
c) Coffee is a Mood Booster
Do you know the phrase, “but first, coffee?” People say this because they need it to help get them going in the mornings. There is a dopamine bump you get first thing in the morning after you have that first cup. Dopamine is a euphoria producing neurotransmitter that produces that “feel good” feeling you get after coffee.
Being in a better mood can help keep depression at bay as well. Talk about a mood booster! A Harvard study found that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of depression in women by 20% when they consume 4 or more cups.
d) Contains Essential Nutrients
Coffee contains a number of nutrients that can be useful in your everyday life, and antioxidants are one of them. Free radicals in the body are toxic and a common reason for inflammation. They are also responsible for contributing to developing diseases such as diabetes and cancer.
There have been over 1,000 antioxidants found in coffee beans yet to be processed. Several hundred develop during the roasting of the bean-like melanoidins, which is a potent antioxidant.
Antioxidants keep us healthy at the cellular level by preventing damage. Chlorogenic acid is an antioxidant found in coffee that has been shown to help in preventing cardiovascular disease. Studies show that we get more antioxidants from coffee than from most fruits and veggies. So this makes coffee the biggest source of antioxidants in the western diet.
Coffee also contains the Vitamins B2, B3, and B5, as well as potassium, magnesium, and fiber. Your body might be begging you to drink some, so if you were on the fence about coffee, this information might help to change your mind.
e) Burns Fat
Coffee can help you burn more calories by activating the brown adipose tissue in your body. This brown fat produces heat by burning sugar and other fat, which in turn burns more calories. Caffeine is found in almost every commercial fat burning supplement because it’s known to increase your metabolic rate.
Final Thoughts
Like all things, it’s key to remember to drink coffee in moderation. You can consume too much caffeine, but limiting yourself to a couple of cups per day could give you some if not all of the benefits we mentioned above. Caffeine has been known to affect people differently, so be cautious.
Always remember that consuming fresh quality coffee is best and if you want to get the maximum benefits, try to keep your cup as low calorie as possible by avoiding lots of added sugars.
Your coffee doesn’t necessarily have to be caffeinated; decaf has the same nutrients as the fully caffeinated cup. When you combine coffee with a well-balanced diet, you can accomplish great things.