Coffee and your health
There are different stories going around but rest assured: drinking coffee is good for your health. We will tell you more about it below.
Many of us enjoy coffee every day. Maybe you recognize it: that when your partner (or maybe you yourself) forgot to order coffee on time - you can get quite grumpy in the morning because of that empty look. Starting your day without coffee is really not nice!
The more aware we become of the influence of food on our body and mind, the more we want to know what coffee does to us. Below we list a number of health facts for you.
Coffee hydrates
It is sometimes said that coffee dehydrates your body. This myth is based on the fact that in Italy you often get a glass of water with your coffee. However, the glass of water is meant to neutralize your taste buds. Coffee is just as hydrating as any other drink. So you can drink coffee to keep your fluid intake up.
Coffee is low in fat and calories
Coffee is healthier for you than most fruit juices and milk drinks. It does not contain any fat or (fruit) sugar. Coffee is even on the food pyramid because it is so low in calories. Of course, we are talking about black coffee, so without milk and sugar. Furthermore, coffee does not contain any artificially added flavour enhancers. The difference in taste is caused by the different ways in which the coffee is roasted and the place of origin of the beans.
Scientific research
There has also been a lot of scientific research done in the past year and the results look good. Drinking coffee is associated with:
- Reduced risk of liver disease
- Lower risk of heart failure
- Lower risk of Alzheimer's
These are solid health benefits that we are not reading about for the first time. However, we are keeping a slight reservation. We base our information on what we read on, for example, the website of 'the knowledge center for coffee and health', but of course we are not scientists ourselves.
Coffee: The Mental Benefits
It is well known that coffee with caffeine gives you an extra mental boost. Especially in the winter, when the days are short and dark, this is more than just a nice side effect. Research (which we read again on the 'knowledge center for coffee and health') shows that our mood improves considerably when we drink coffee. We feel better. How nice is that?! Moreover, it stimulates our working memory and we are more alert during the day when we drink coffee.
Coffee and sports
Another thing that is written about a lot is the beneficial effect of coffee on your sports performance. Coffee is good for your blood circulation and therefore helps your muscle recovery. We wrote a blog about this before. If you want to read more about coffee and sports, you can do so here.
What about coffee and cholesterol?
We also looked into this for you. You can find extensive information about this here. In short, it comes down to the fact that if you filter the coffee, you filter the harmful substances from your coffee and coffee then fits perfectly in a cholesterol-lowering diet.
In short: is coffee healthy?
We are convinced that coffee is good for you. More and more studies show that drinking coffee has all kinds of beneficial effects on your body and mind. So enjoy your cup of coffee - if only for the taste!
