5 Health Benefits Of Drinking Coffee
If you’re a big fan of coffee, you know there is nothing like the smell of a fresh pot brewing in the kitchen in the morning after you wake up and are getting ready for work (or just taking it easy on a lazy Sunday morning). It’s so nice to take a mid-afternoon break around 3 pm for a little jolt of caffeine and sugar as the workday is slowly winding down. There are so many great kinds of coffees out there, with all different flavors, roasts, and acidities.
While you might just like coffee for the taste and the caffeine kick, did you know that drinking coffee can actually have great effects on your health? Here are 5 reasons you should be a drinking a hot cup of specialty coffee (like pumpkin spice, salted caramel, or French vanilla!).
1. It can help reduce muscle pain after a workout
If you hit the gym for a long workout sesh, drinking just two cups of coffee can help reduce any pain you feel by up to 48%. That’s almost half the pain! You can drink any of your two favorite cups of coffee in order for this to work, and it’s actually real! The information was provided from a study published in the Journal of Pain in March 2007. Because of the caffeine, though, it might be best to rely on this pain-reduction method on daytime workouts, not those too close to when you’re trying to go to bed.
2. It can help keep you alive longer
If you’re a big fan of coffee and tea, you’re going to love this information! While green tea drinkers can benefit from all the antioxidants in their favorite drink in order to keep cancer and other icky diseases at bay, the same goes for coffee drinkers! A study from Harvard found that those who drink 1-5 cups of coffee per day cut their risk of dying prematurely from disease.
3. It gives you a good dose of fiber
Every cup of coffee you drink gives you about 1.8 grams of fiber. Each day you should aim to get about 20-38 grams, and coffee can help! Aside from your cup of joe, you can also get fiber from foods like avocados, berries, coconut, and okra. Fiber helps to ensure that sugar is slowly absorbed into the bloodstream and that blood sugar levels stay stable. A cup of specialty coffee can also help reduce constipation and help with digestion, and moderate consumption of coffee cut your risk of developing colorectal cancer by 26%.
4. It can help lower the risk of depression
A study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that there is a reduced risk of suicide in female coffee drinkers, and women who drink four or more cups of coffee per day were 20% less likely to suffer from depression, according to the Harvard School of Public Health. A cup of your favorite specialty coffee has chlorogenic acid, ferulic acid, and caffeic acid, which are all known to help reduce inflammation of nerve cells in those with depression.
5. It can keep your teeth strong
Black coffee (yes, without the cream and sugar!) can actually help kill the bacteria on teeth that leads to tooth decay, making it a way to protect your teeth from cavities. Coffee is also known to help with periodontal disease and helps to protect gums. So choose a hot cup of specialty coffee (with a nice roast or a great added flavor) so you can skip out on the cream and sugar, which of course, negates these positive benefits.
If you’re looking for a reason to go to the coffee shop for that specialty cup of coffee, or have that one cup of hotel coffee when you check out, look no further than these five reasons! Coffee has a ton of great health benefits from protecting your teeth from decay, protecting your body from cancer, and keeping you feeling happier.
