A cup of coffee is a well-known way to boost your energy levels at the start of the day. But the caffeinated drink also has many amazing health benefits.
According to experts, it is good for the heart and reduces the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Here, MailOnline reveals seven potential health benefits of drinking coffee.
Reduce the risk of depression
Research shows that coffee, in addition to waking you up in the morning, can also make you happier.
In fact, drinking at least four cups of coffee a day has been associated with a lower risk of depression compared to drinking just one cup. This is stated in a Spanish study conducted among 14,413 university graduates in 2018.
Researchers at the National Coffee Association believe that one reason coffee reduces the risk of depression is that caffeine suppresses depression-causing chemicals in the brain.
Just as caffeine prevents you from falling asleep, this stimulant also prevents receptors in the brain from binding to adenosine, a chemical that causes depression as well as fatigue.
Supports Liver Health
Coffee can keep the liver healthy and protect the system from disease.
And a new study suggests a link between coffee consumption and the risk of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, a group of liver diseases that can lead to cirrhosis and cancer.
A 2023 study conducted by the University of Coimbra in Portugal, supported by the Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee, surveyed 156 obese middle-aged participants, most of whom had type 2 diabetes.
It turned out that those who drank more coffee, the liver was healthier.
But it’s not just because of the caffeine. Both decaffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee beans have had positive effects on the liver.
And while those who drank regular coffee were less likely to develop liver cirrhosis, higher levels of coffee consumption were significantly associated with lower levels of fatty liver.
However, other factors may also play a role.
help you lose weight
Researchers say this may be because your morning drink boosts your metabolism — the number of calories your body uses per day — and burns fat.
And just 100 mg of caffeine, the amount found in a typical cup of coffee, was found to increase resting metabolic rate in participants in a 1989 study.
A King’s College London study found that participants’ energy expenditure increased by about 10% when they were given 100mg of caffeine every two hours throughout the day.
Because of these results, researchers have suggested that caffeine may promote weight loss in the treatment of obesity, but more research is needed.
A more recent study from 2004 found that drinking coffee doubled the amount of fat burned and increased energy expenditure by 13%.
Another American study published in the Journal of Nutrition in 2020 indicates that women who drink more coffee have less fat.
good for your heart
Drinking a lot of caffeine can put pressure on your heart and make you nervous.
But in moderation, coffee reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease.
In fact, drinking three to five cups of coffee a day may be the ideal amount to keep your heart healthy.
According to a 2022 Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC) review, drinking three cups a day may reduce your risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and atrial fibrillation.
“Moderate amounts of coffee are not only associated with a lower risk of heart disease, but also with a longer life,” says Professor Kjeld Hermansen from the Department of Clinical Medicine at Aarhus University and an ISIC coffee expert.
Professor Hermansen said: “These trends apply to both people with and without cardiovascular disease. Coffee beans contain over 100 biologically active compounds. They can help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, as well as improve insulin sensitivity and metabolism.” The exact mechanisms of action in relation to CVD have not been elucidated.
Helps in sports performance
Coffee will not only cheer you up in the morning, but also help you go to the gym.
According to experts, caffeine consumption improves endurance and also increases the effectiveness of high-intensity and resistance exercise.
The drink can also aid athletic performance in sports such as tennis and football, says Dr Neil Clark, Lecturer in Sports and Nutrition at Coventry University and an ISIC expert.
He told MailOnline: “Cognitive functions, including attention and alertness, also improved after taking caffeine. These positive effects are generally independent of training status, habitual caffeine intake, and sex.” But he also believes that simply drinking coffee is better than getting caffeine from powder or pills.
“There is growing evidence that coffee is an equally effective alternative to caffeine powder or tablets for enhancing physical performance,” he said.
good for your brain
Researchers say drinking coffee reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s disease.
A 2016 review of 11 observational studies of over 29,000 people found that the more coffee they consumed, the lower their risk of amnesia.
But the researchers stressed that more research is needed to find out the reason for this link.
What’s more, studies also show that coffee reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Another review of 13 studies published in Nutrients in 2020 found that caffeine intake slows the progression of this neurological condition.
According to Professor Giuseppe Grosso from the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Biotechnology at the University of Catania and an ISIC expert, coffee may be good for the brain due to its anti-inflammatory effects.
Professor Grosso told MailOnline: “There is evidence that coffee polyphenols can cross the blood-brain barrier, have anti-neuroinflammatory effects, and even stimulate neurogenesis, leading to a reduced risk of cognitive and emotional disorders.”
Reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
A recent study showed that caffeine can not only keep you from becoming obese, but also lower your risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
A study published in the journal BMJ Medicine looked at the genes that determine how quickly people metabolize caffeine to estimate potential caffeine levels in nearly 800,000 people over a lifetime.
The researchers found that those who break down caffeine more slowly, so they likely have higher blood levels, have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
However, their lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes could be explained by their lower body mass index. This is due to the fact that thinness reduces the risk of developing this disease, which affects one in ten people over 40 years old.
Study senior author Dr Dipender Gill, from Imperial College London, said: “These results suggest that caffeine may be associated with lower body mass index, less body fat and less chance of developing type 2 diabetes. It can improve metabolism in humans. While this doesn’t mean people should leave the house and drink lots of higher-calorie, caffeinated drinks like chai latte, if more evidence from larger trials comes up in the future, it could indicate that they should drink espresso or black coffee. to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.
Source: Daily Mail