For many coffee lovers, it’s more than just the smell of roasted beans and a smooth, rich taste. It’s the ritual of starting the day with a steamy mug or icy glass of java.
Roasted grounds come a long way before they make it into your cup. After being harvested from the coffee tree, the raw beans go through a roasting process. Differences in temperature and roasting time result in light, medium, and dark roasts. That determines the variety of tastes it can take on.
What Is Caffeine?
Coffee contains caffeine. Caffeine is a stimulant that activates the central nervous system. This is why you may feel more awake, alert, or energetic after your morning cup.
Too much caffeine can be a bad thing. It can cause side effects like restlessness, dizziness, headaches, fast heart rate, and even anxiety. If you’re experiencing any of these, you may want to cut back on caffeine or eliminate it from your diet (more on this below). But with decaf varieties, you can still have your cup and drink it too.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends about 400 milligrams of caffeine daily. This comes to about four or five cups of coffee (or less if you plan to have other caffeinated beverages). Some people are more sensitive to the effects of caffeine than others.
Health Benefits of Coffee
However, the good news for all coffee fanatics is that this beloved beverage—about two calories per eight-ounce cup—offers several health benefits. Here are six, along with a few potential issues to be aware of and how decaf coffee fits in.
1. Protects Against Depression
Coffee may have a positive effect on mental health. Depression is a serious mental illness and affects more than 19 million people in the United States. Coffee may have the power to help combat this.
One study found a “significantly lower risk of depression” in people who drank at least four cups of coffee daily. These were middle-aged people who were all following a Mediterranean diet.
2. It Contains Antioxidants
Coffee beans are the seeds inside the small fruit of the coffee tree. Both the seeds and fruit are rich in antioxidants. One of the primary sources of antioxidants in people’s daily diet is coffee. Antioxidants are essential because they can prevent or delay some types of damage to your body’s cells.
The antioxidants in coffee have been linked to health protection. Chlorogenic acid, a polyphenol abundant in coffee, has been shown to reduce inflammation. It may also play a key role in protection against chronic diseases, including obesity.
3. Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common type of diabetes, a condition resulting in high levels of blood glucose (blood sugar). If untreated, diabetes can cause several health complications.
The risk of type 2 diabetes has been shown to go down when its consumption goes up. In one study, the chance of developing the disease decreased by 6% for each cup per day increase in its consumption. Possible reasons for the link include coffee’s antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects, ability to boost calorie burning, and impact on the content and diversity of health-protective gut microbes.
4. Tied to Lower Rates of Other Diseases
Coffee consumption may protect against certain cancers, including breast, colorectal, endometrial, and prostate cancers, heart disease, and Parkinson’s disease. Lifelong coffee/caffeine consumption is also associated with preventing cognitive decline and reducing stroke risk.
In terms of brain health, caffeinated its ups alertness and may also improve memory for up to 24 hours after consumption.
