11 scientific reasons why you should be drinking coffee.
why is coffee good for you, and shows that the humble cup of coffee isn’t such a bad habit after all.
1. It Has Many Healthy Components
People tend to think that it’s unhealthy, but it does actually contain some nutrients, including niacin (vitamin b3), riboflavin (vitamin B2), pantothenic acid (vitamin B1), potassium and manganese.
At the same time, coffee is a very good source of antioxidants.
In general, people get more antioxidants from coffee than they do from all of their fruits and vegetables
So, coffee often ends up being the main source of antioxidants for many people, although sources like wine, tea and fruit juice can also be significant.
Unlike many of the other compounds in coffee, caffeine can be considered a good or a bad thing, depending on your needs and your preferences.
Certainly, caffeine has been connected to a number of positive health outcomes, but at the same time some people can’t have caffeine and too much caffeine can cause issues like problems sleeping and anxiety.
2. It Promotes Longer Life
A number of different studies have looked into the connection between coffee and risk of death.
Specifically, these studies have highlighted how coffee consumption can decrease the risk of death. By extension, this indicates that coffee consumption may contribute to a longer life.
For example, one observational study looked at coffee consumption in more than 400,000 people and followed these individuals for a number of years.
Their data for the relationship between coffee and overall risk of death is shown in the following image.
The study also noted that the observed effects were true for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, so caffeine was not the cause of the effect.
This is not the only study to find such an outcome.
A more recent study also looked at this connection
One interesting thing about this study was that the authors also looked into whether the pattern was true when including or excluding people who smoke.
That approach is very relevant because there is often a connection between smoking and coffee drinking.
This indicates that the change in risk of death was not connected to whether or not people smoke.
One intervention study did find that coffee consumption was able to reduce the level of background breaking in DNA strands,A second study found the same outcome for dark roast coffee.
That effect could help to increase life length or decrease the risk of death, but the studies didn’t look at the implications of the change in DNA breakage.
One simple explanation might be antioxidants.
The polyphenols in coffee may also be significant for its ability to decrease the risk of death, and for other health benefits. These are strong antioxidants that also have other properties for health.
There are also many other compounds that could play a role.
3. Helps to Improve Mood
The coffee really can have a significant effect on mood.
Much of that effect seems to be connected to the caffeine in coffee, particularly as caffeine can help to make people feel less fatigued and make them more alert.
One systematic review indicated that coffee can play a significant role in protecting people from depression.
The shape of this relationship was similar to the one with coffee and risk of death, and the strongest protective effect came at around 400 ml of coffee per day.
The caffeine and tea had some effects on protecting against depression, but this wasn’t as strong.
Another study also found that drinking coffee helped to decrease depression risk.
This study focused specifically on women and also just looked at caffeinated coffee.
Nevertheless, it adds strength to the idea that coffee may play a role in preventing depression.
Research has also indicated that drinking coffee can help decrease the risk of suicide
The ability of coffee to reduce suicide risk may well be connected to its ability to improve mood and to impact depression.
4. Coffee Can Decrease Diabetes Risk
It is also a very significant answer to the question ‘why is coffee good for you’.
One study on the topic looked at outcomes across a number of different studies for a period of four years.
if people increased their coffee consumption in that period, their risk of type 2 diabetes was lower.
Another study suggested that even drinking more than 12 cups of coffee per day could decrease diabetes risk (by up to 67%)
Still, I wouldn’t suggest drinking that much coffee in a day – especially if you put sugar or cream in it.
The chlorogenic acid in coffee may be one reason for this impact, as it can lower blood sugar
Another
study suggested that the action of polyphenols may be a reason for the
observed outcomes on diabetes risk and quinides have also been
associated with some observed outcomes, as has the compound cafestol,
also in coffee
5. Can Improve Insulin Response and Blood Sugar Levels
Most research on coffee and diabetes has been connected to reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes.
Nevertheless, some studies do show that coffee is relevant for people with diabetes too.
For example, one study showed that both dark and light roasted coffee can increase the insulin response in humans.
Likewise, studies have indicated that one of the compounds in coffee (chlorogenic acid) can help decrease blood sugar levels
6. It May Even Protect Against Cancer
Cancer research is always a little tricky, especially as there is so much we don’t know about cancer.
Nevertheless, there are a number of studies that suggest that coffee can help reduce cancer risk.
For example, one study looked at prostate cancer risk in men and found that people who consumed more than 6 cups of coffee per day had a decreased risk of prostate cancer.
This was true for caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
The fact that the decreased cancer risk only occurs with more than 6 cups of coffee is a little concerning though, especially as most longevity studies did indicate that the risk of death overall did start to increase again around that point.
Another study found that 4 or more cups of coffee helped to decrease endometrial cancer risk in women, while a third study showed that coffee consumption could decrease the risk of dying from liver cancer for both males and females.
Another study also found similar effects for liver cancer and a meta-analysis of studies also suggested that coffee could help to reduce oral cancer risk.
Researchers have also highlighted on how there may be a number of different molecules in coffee that contribute to this anticancer effect.
However, one study suggested that high coffee consumption (more than 6.5 cups of coffee a day) may increase the risk of gastric cancer.
7. Can Help You Lose Weight – And Keep It Off
The caffeine in coffee has been linked to weight loss maintenance, with people who consume more coffee (and caffeinated drinks in general) also being more successful at maintaining weight loss
This effect may be connected to the potential for coffee to decrease appetite.
Additionally, having a hot drink can potentially be significant for weight loss because it takes time to drink, can be filling, and people often are not eating at the same time.
Some research also suggests that the polyphenols in coffee can play a role in decreasing fat accumulation and increasing the metabolism
Bulletproof coffee is commonly used as a way to lose weight and this is fairly calorie-laden
8. May Help Protect You from Some Brain Diseases
As well as having a role in brain function, coffee can also help to prevent damage to some areas of the brain. In turn, this can help to protect against some brain diseases.
For example, one study looked at the consumption of coffee and the presence of Parkinson’s disease in Japanese-American males.
The outcomes of the study are shown in the image below:
This was also a dose-specific response, so the people that drank more coffee had a lower level of risk.
Although there have been fewer studies, caffeinated coffee has also been associated with protection against Alzheimer’s disease
One potential reason for these effects is that caffeine is able to block adenosine.
This compound plays a key role in a number of biological functions, including the transfer of energy.
This action helps to provide neuroprotective effects.
9. It Can Help You to Think Better
The action of caffeine on adenosine is significant for neuroprotection, but it is also the reason that caffeine can help people to think better
That action is a key reason why caffeine acts as a stimulant and why so many people find caffeine and coffee to be such a good way of becoming more alert.
10. Coffee is Beneficial for the Liver
The coffee can help to decrease the risk of liver cancer.
But, there is also another desirable outcome and this is related to cirrhosis of the liver.
Research has shown that drinking coffee can significantly decrease the risk of cirrhosis.
One study noted that this effect occurs with coffee, but not with other drinks containing caffeine.
That outcome suggests that it is the compounds in the coffee itself that decrease the risk of liver cirrhosis, rather than the caffeine.
11. It May Offer Other Health Benefits
For example, some research suggests that coffee may play a role in helping to repair damaged muscle.
One study also indicates that coffee may play a role in treating sarcopenia, which is the loss of muscle strength and mass that occurs as people age (55).
Coffee has also been connected to decreasing the risk of tinnitus in women .
It has also been associated with improving microvascular function and caffeine can play a role in decreasing muscle pain.
All of these areas need significantly more research before we can be certain that coffee does have an impact.
Nevertheless, this early research is a strong indication that there may be more benefits to coffee than we already know about.
Source : https://nutritionyoucanuse.com/11-reasons-why-coffee-is-good-for-you
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