Are you one of the many people who can’t just start your day without having a cup of your favorite coffee? Well, being a coffee lover is not a crime at all. Consuming 1-2 cups a day has become a mainstream activity and a trend among people in the corporate world. Coffee is known to be a stress-buster friend as it is a stimulant that increases Basal Metabolic Rate and revitalizes us, especially when we are sleepy. A trivia, As of 1999, the United States had 180,000,000 coffee drinkers, spending nearly 17.9 billion dollars on coffee alone, that is an average of $166 a year per coffee drinker. In the year 2000, coffee consumption reached an all-time high. According to National Coffee Drinking Trends published by the National Coffee Association, 25% of American adults drank coffee occasionally, while another 54% drank coffee daily. Lastly, studies indicate coffee consumption increases with age, which means the coffee industry will benefit from a lifelong pattern.
Coffee contains caffeine, a natural stimulant in fewer amounts in tea, chocolate, and soft drinks. It is currently the most commonly used psychoactive substance and the one to blame for coffee’s conceivably addictive qualities. Caffeine has several impacts on your body, including the capacity to boost your metabolism, heighten exercise performance and boost your mood. But caffeine is best known for its influences on your brain, promoting increased alertness, concentration, and the urge to work. The amount of caffeine found in coffee differs considerably. For instance, some cups of coffee can hold as little as 30 mg, whereas others carry over 300 mg.
Here’s where caffeine gets addictive: If you keep drinking coffee over time, your body and brain change. Since the adenosine receptors get blocked regularly, the body creates more adenosine receptors to cope with the change. The different receptors mean you may need more caffeine and more robust coffee after a while to get the same “fix.” If you suddenly cut off the caffeine supply, the body has these extra receptors, and none of them are being blocked off. As a coffee addict, you might already be aware of the health benefits it brings. These includes:
Reduce Cancer Risk
Coffee is an anti-oxidant too. Anti-oxidants battle free radicals that break down cells and break them. A good example is a research held at Southampton University, England, which revealed that coffee could lessen the risk of developing HCC (hepatocellular cancer), a sort of primary liver cancer. The research comprised more than 2.25 million people and showed that drinking one cup of caffeinated coffee was connected to a 20% decrease in developing this form of cancer. Drinking two or more coffee cups a day led to a 35% reduction and five cups halved the danger!
Coffee Promotes Weight-Loss
Scientists paid attention to the adenosine receptors in the brain that are barred when caffeine is drunk. The study was directed on mice, and after high doses of caffeine, the mice lost appetite for food. Their weight also reduced, and their energy levels heightened, so they burnt more calories. The study possibly shows that caffeine consumption and weight loss could have a meaningful link, and this specific study will be used in further researches into controlling world obesity.
Can fight depression and make you happier
Depression is a severe mental disorder that creates a significant quality of life. It’s widespread, as about 4.1% of people in the US currently meet the criteria for clinical depression. In a Harvard study published in 2011, women who drank four or more coffee cups per day had a 20% lower risk of becoming depressed. Another study in 208,424 individuals found that those who drank four or more cups per day were 53% less likely to die by suicide.
On this note, however, too much intake of coffee can pose harm to our health. Consider these:
Coffee can cause insomnia and restlessness.
The quantity of caffeine that is safe for human consumption is written in our DNA. If you’re caffeine-sensitive, be careful with your coffee intake.
Bad coffee can be toxic.
Bad quality coffee can have many contaminations in it, which can cause sickness, headache, or a familiar lousy feeling. This can occur if your coffee is made from beans that have been over ripped or unless ruined. Even one ruined bean can make your cup toxic. If you spend and buy a high-quality, specialty coffee, you don’t have to bother about this.
Coffee is dangerous for cholesterol.
Given some of the components found in coffee, too much coffee can affect increased LDL cholesterol levels. Too much LDL cholesterol can cause complications in the arteries, which can, in turn, hinder the flow of blood to the heart and withhold oxygen.
Too much of anything can be wrong, but in regulation, we can all continue to have coffee and enjoy most of the benefits it gives. Whether our happiness comes from instant coffee or whole bean coffee ground in a compact coffee grinder, the benefits of drinking coffee might surpass the negatives depending on our lifestyles.
