5 things you may not know about coffee
Coffee: is it good or bad for you? The answer is not straightforward; after all, caffeine is a psychological stimulant with a mix of effects on the body. Most people are familiar with the common effects: increased alertness; a temporary energy boost; and, if consumed in excess: “the jitters”; heart palpitations; feelings of anxiety. Based on current medical research, the bottom line is that coffee is basically ok if consumed in moderation. We will share our summary of current medical research on the overall benefits and risks of drinking coffee in a forthcoming white paper so stay tuned!
In the meantime, check out our list of lesser known facts about coffee’s effects on the body that may surprise you!
1. Coffee may help you live longer and avoid a whole bunch of diseases
This seems like a drastic claim at first, but there is growing evidence that coffee lovers have a lower risk of a variety of chronic conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimers, diabetes, liver cirrhosis and even cancer of the liver. Several sources suggest that coffee reduces risk of death by 12% among men and 16% among women respectively, if individuals drink 4 cups (400mg) a day.
2. The effects of coffee depend who you are (and what genes you have)
As we frequently tell our clients at Olive Branch, different people are affected by food in different ways depending on their genetic make-up, and coffee is no exception. Recent studies have even isolated the genes that are probably responsible for different reactions to coffee among individuals. Depending on your DNA, you may be more susceptible to irritability, headaches and tiredness when you consume coffee. The luckier ones among us feel these effects less strongly or not at all.
Another related factor is the speed of your metabolism. Individuals with a slower metabolism do not process the caffeine as quickly through their systems, and are more likely to stay wired for up to 9 hours. Fast metabolisers only get a boost for a couple of hours before the effect wears off.
Slow metabolisers therefore need to be careful: excessive coffee consumption as this can lead to sleep disruptions, increased blood pressure and may also affect the health of your heart.
3. Coffee makes your brain better and can increase exercise performance
That feeling of alertness when you drink coffee is no illusion; studies have shown that improved cognitive function, including reaction times, verbal memory and visual-spatial reasoning, can be observed after coffee is consumed. Not only that, caffeine also appears to improve exercise performance by up to 12% according to some studies.
4. You are probably getting more anti-oxidants from coffee than from your fruit and vegetable intake combined
This is a surprising one: even if you knew that coffee is high in anti-oxidants, you may not know that most people actually get the for anti-oxidants from the coffee in their diets than from their entire combined fruit and vegetable intake. Coffee also has quite a few minerals including Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium and Folate, which add up if you drink several cups over one day.
5. Coffee can help burn calories (yay!) as long as you don’t add sugar
This is probably the good news that you were waiting to read. Because caffeine can boost metabolism (which contributes to improved exercise performance), it means that it helps you burn calories at a faster rate. A word of warning though: the main way to maximise this benefit is to keep your coffee black and avoid pumping it full of cream and sugar. As most of us know by now, added sugar in drinks is one of the most damaging aspects of our modern diet and this applies to coffee as well. The bitterness may take time to get used to but to get the maximum benefit, it’s definitely a good idea to take your coffee neat.
So there you have it! A longer life, a better brain and more calories burned may all be possible if you drink coffee regularly, though some individuals need to be careful about drinking excessively if it puts a strain on their metabolism.
Our final recommendation for coffee: taking all the data into consideration, it seems that the best for most people is to drink about 3 cups of coffee (24 oz) per day. This will maximize the benefits while minimizing the risk.
