5 Proven Health Benefits to Drinking Coffee
I like to say that if we’re going to do something we enjoy anyway, so much the better if it’s actually good for us! I’m thinking you’d agree. That’s how I feel about coffee. I grew up loving the taste of anything coffee. Coffee cake, coffee ice cream, and coffee candy. Even hot coffee when my grandmother would sneak me a few sips 🙂
Then I started asking myself if my morning cup of coffee was actually good for me.
Luckily, researchers started asking the same question!
Is your morning cup of coffee good for your brain or a guilty pleasure?
For years scientists have been puzzling this question out. In fact, coffee has been one of the world’s most popular beverages for hundreds of years. And although health professionals used to warn us about the ills of caffeinated coffee, it seems that current research has mostly turned the tide to coffee’s positive benefits.
Here are 5 ways coffee might be good for your brain.
1. Coffee may slow the progress of Alzheimer’s disease.
A Florida study found that when older people with mild cognitive impairment were tested initially and then again two to four years later, the ones with high blood caffeine, which is equivalent to about 3 cups of coffee a day, were far less likely to have developed full-blown Alzheimer’s disease.
2. Coffee may help you live longer.
A large-scale study involving over 400,000 older adults found that men who drank 2 cups of coffee a day lived 10% longer than their coffee-free cohorts. Among women, the figure was even higher; the coffee drinkers lived an average of 13% longer than their uncaffeinated peers.
3. Coffee may help prevent Parkinson’s disease and can reduce the visible symptoms if you already have it.
Studies show that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Parkinson’s, and for those that have the disease, coffee intake has been found to help with movement symptoms like tremors.
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4. Coffee may stave off dementia.
Animal experiments have found that caffeine can disrupt adenosine, a cell chemical that can start a chain reaction that leads to a disruption of neuron function, neurodegeneration, and eventual dementia.
5. Coffee is one of the best sources of neuroprotective antioxidants available.
While things like blueberries and pomegranates are most often touted for their antioxidant content, it turns out our cup of morning coffee is brimming with antioxidants. Research shows that by a large margin, it is the number one source of antioxidants in most people’s diets.
Will people who aren’t already coffee drinkers just start drinking coffee when they know about the benefits? Have no idea, but I’d think not likely.
However, that doesn’t mean those of us who enjoy coffee in MODERATION can’t put an even bigger smile on our faces when we know our taste buds provide us with health benefits down to the last sip.
Have a wonderfully healthy and caffeinated June and we’ll meet again next month!
shelli
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