A lot more than just a great tasting drink, coffee actually has tons of health benefits and new research is coming out all the time, revealing more and more. Improving everything from mental and physical performance to reducing risks of many diseases, our favourite drink is actually proving important for the good of our health.
Improving performance
Did you know that coffee improves your physical performance in sport as well as your mental performance and alertness in driving and puzzles? Drinking caffeinated coffee can reduce muscle pain, improve endurance sport performance and high-intensity sport performance. (www.blackheartscoffee.com)
Drinking coffee also improves language functions, visual concentration and this is the case for habitual drinkers as well as non-habitual drinkers. Not bad eh? Next time you need to give a presentation? An espresso beforehand could help you articulate more clearly and process questions more accurately and in less time. Pretty good when that colleague always asks tricky ones!
It’s not just boardroom benefits though, the caffeine in coffee also increases mental alertness and response times. That means safer driving and working conditions at night or during periods of tiredness. In fact, according to one study, drinking a strong coffee is equal to 30 minutes of naptime when it comes to alert driving.
Reducing risk of disease
Research shows that coffee may reduce the risk of several cancers such as liver, brain and colon. It’s not just cancer either, studies have shown possible inverse associations with coffee drinking and the development of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s – meaning that drinking coffee could lower your risk.
Multiple studies have also shown that lifelong coffee drinking could slow down mental decline in old age and drinking coffee could even lower your risk of a stroke.
Many studies show inverse links between caffeinated coffee consumption and a wide range of diseases and the information is improving all the time. Luckily, the coffee health research industry is well funded and results get more accurate and more widely understood every year.
That coffee dehydration myth
A lot of people believe that coffee is dehydrating and we’re please to report that it’s simply not true! Technically the caffeine is ever so slightly diuretic, however, the water you drink it with outweighs this effect completely. Drinking coffee is actually hydrating!
Also, the milk that many people drink with their coffees is an excellent source of minerals and calcium, improving bone health and general overall health. Even most vegan milks these days are fortified with calcium and other vitamins and minerals.
Keep up the coffee revolution!
Drinking high quality coffee is easier than ever now with the amazing ranges of bean to cup home coffee machines, small portable coffee brewers and every size of coffee maker in between. You don’t even have to spend lots of money in coffee houses, with home coffee machines becoming more affordable each year.
So grab a coffee and know that you’re actually doing your body and mind a whole world of good!
Misty Jhones is a freelance writer and amazing food blogger from California City. She loves to read, write and share her exert knowledge to others. After graduation from university of California, she introduced herself as a professional writer and wrote numerous articles about Health, Fitness, Weight Loss, Diet, Food and other health issues. You may read more about misty at Free Dieting