9 Reasons Why Coffee Is Good for You and How to Drink It Correctly
“Black as night, hot as fire, pure as an angel and sweet as a kiss!” — that’s how Turkish poets, on whose land the first coffee house opened in the sixteenth century, glorified their favorite drink.
A daily cup of coffee has become a ritual in everyday life for many of us. In addition to a pleasant taste, this drink fills us with vigor and energy thanks to the caffeine content.
A lot of you are certainly are in love with this drink. It’s no secret that people have a daily routine of drinking coffee, whatever their go-to coffee may be, whether it is a coffee house blend or an espresso blend. If you found out that coffee, in addition to its amazing taste and unforgettable aroma, also has many useful properties for the body, you will love it even more.
What time is best to drink it? How to flavor it and add sweetness? What is the daily norm of coffee? Where is it best to store so that the taste and aroma remain the same for as long as possible? Let’s figure it out together!
1 Booting up all systems
The beneficial properties of coffee appear from just 1-2 cups per day; this will help you feel less tired. This happens thanks to caffeine, which enters the bloodstream, and then travels to the brain. There it blocks adenosine, an inhibitory neurotransmitter. It increases the production of dopamine, norepinephrine, and adrenaline. These hormones increase energy levels, improve mood, and overall cognitive function.
2 Do you even lift?
Coffee is good for those who are into sports. According to studies, caffeine increases physical activity by 11-12%. This is due to the fact that it causes the production of adrenaline, as already mentioned in the paragraph above. Thanks to this hormone, our body is ready for intense physical stress. Caffeine also breaks down fat cells, turning them into free fatty acids, which can be used by the body as fuel. Therefore, 1 hour before the gym, you should drink a nice coffee cup to increase efficiency.
3 Perfect summer body
Coffee will help you maintain a normal weight, and sometimes even lose those extra pounds. Almost every slimming product contains caffeine. This natural substance can accelerate metabolism by 3-11%. Caffeine stimulates metabolism, and chlorogenic acid can reduce glucose absorption.
4 The memory of an elephant
Natural coffee reduces the risk of Alzheimer’s by 65%. This disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease and the leading cause of dementia of people over 62 years old. Unfortunately, the world has not yet found a cure for this. To prevent the development of the disease, it is necessary to have an active lifestyle, a healthy diet, and avoid stress. And don’t forget your coffee.
5 Your liver will thank you
The British journal Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics published a review that combines nine studies that indicate that drinking just two cups of coffee a day reduces the risk of cirrhosis by 45%. This is most likely due to the content of substances such as chlorogenic acid, cafestol, and caveolin, which have an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effect.
6 Give me some sugar
The benefits of natural coffee have been noticed in the fight against type 2 diabetes. Currently, about 300 million people on the planet suffer from type 2 diabetes. The International Diabetes Federation says that by 2030 every 10th adult on Earth will be diagnosed with diabetes. According to an extensive study analyzing 18 scientific papers, one cup of coffee reduces the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by 7%.
7 Strong to the core
Besides the benefits described above, coffee helps with the absorption of beneficial elements, in particular calcium. By adding milk to the drink, will help compensate for the loss of this critical element.
8 What’s your sign? It’s not cancer
It has already been precisely proven that drinking coffee reduces the risk of breast cancer. In 2011, a Breast Cancer Research study found a 20% reduction in the incidence of this form of cancer in regular coffee users. But this applies not only to women. Approximately the same results were obtained regarding prostate cancer.
9 Parkinson’s who?
In 2000, the Journal of the American Medical Association published the results of studies that prove that caffeine reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease. In 2010, scientists confirmed this fact and determined that drinking from two to three cups of coffee per day can reduce the chances of developing the disease by 25%.
How much is enough?
Many coffee lovers measure this adorable drink exclusively in cups. Therefore, we indicate the norm in terms of pure caffeine so that it will be more objective and much more honest. An adult should use no more than 100-200 mg at a time. For a day, it is allowed to take a maximum of 2-3 portions.
Frame it
It would seem that a sip of fresh arabica is good itself, simply because it is fragrant and teases the senses with warmth … But even a picture of a venerable artist needs a frame. So, coffee — this gourmet masterpiece deserves a bright addition, especially when it comes to Robusta’s astringent bitterness, which you want to combine with something sweet or sour.
Sugar and lemon are ideal as an addition, but the main thing is not to overdo it: usually, one teaspoon or slice per cup is enough. To save froth at the coffee latte, sugar should be replaced with powdered sugar.
To coffee with foam, you can add liquid toppings — syrups and liquors, but they should be added carefully and not too much because the frame cannot be more noticeable than the gourmet masterpiece itself. When adding alcohol to a hot drink, remember that such coffee can only be offered to adults. It’s not recommendable for people with unstable pressure because coffee itself constricts blood vessels, but alcohol dilates them.
Goodbye sugar, hello stevia
Everyone knows about the dangers of sugar literally from childhood: we are told about it in kindergarten, school, on the television screen… But we continue to consume it simply because it is delicious. And suppose it’s enough for a person with excellent health just not to get carried away with sugar. In that case, it’s essential for diabetics and people who are striving to reduce body weight to gradually but surely expel this “white poison” from their dining table!
If you can’t give up on it, try to replace it. After all, not everyone can drink just black coffee without additives. Do not torment yourself; you need to find a decent sweet alternative, such as stevia. This plant is much sweeter than sugar, has a low glycaemic index, and almost no calories.
You can also use maple syrup, Jerusalem artichoke, and mulberry syrups. And finally, fructose and natural honey. As you can see, there are many substitutes — and they are all tasty, natural, and affordable.
My precious beans
If you purchased coffee that was roasted right in front of you, make sure that the barista pours it into a papercraft bag with valves that release hot steam and help keep the beans dry. Otherwise, you can say hello to the mold in your coffee. But already cooled fragrant grains are best kept in an opaque plastic packaging with zip lock because It practically does not let inside light, air, heat, and extraneous odors. And due to the modern lock, you can easily open and close the bag as much as you need it.
Light, air, or moisture are kept away; insect pests will not be able to get into it, which means that coffee will be under reliable protection. Any dark plastic or glass jar with a screw cap is also suitable. The most important thing is to keep beans in a dry place away from sources of moisture. The best place would be in a kitchen cabinet next to odorless and dry foods (cereals and flour).
Are you a cezve type?
There are three most common types of making coffee: in a cezve on the stove, in a geyser coffee machine, or a special coffee machine. Coffee machines can grind grain themselves, use only ground coffee, or “consume” exclusively capsules — both branded and adapted.
There are a lot of different cezves. You can choose by the size (there are even very small ones — for one mug) and the type of material: metal (bronze, copper) or ceramic.
Manual coffee brewing experiences come with time and practice. The main secret here is to have time to notice the boiling and raising of foam in time to instantly remove the fire’s cezve, thereby avoiding the “escape” of the precious drink. Sometimes beginners detect the brewing time in seconds, but the easiest way is not to take your eyes off the surface of the coffee — and then the taste and aroma will be excellent, and you won’t have to wipe the stove.
It’s time to choose!
The tasting and aromatic qualities of coffee depend on its type. For example, a strong and pleasantly bitter robusta contains almost twice as much caffeine and chlorogenic acid. Still, in a more delicate, noble, and expensive arabica, there are many lipids and sugars. By mixing these two legendary varieties, you can get an espresso with an arabica-robusta ratio of 60/40 or a ristretto with an arabica-robusta ratio of 10/90. These two types of coffee allow you to feel like a real barista right at home, changing the percentage of grains and impressing friends and relatives with all the adored drink’s new tastes. Try to experiment and play with it!
Super Morning coffee comes to the rescue!
The very beginning of the day is the perfect time for coffee. And it’s all because of the daily human biorhythms. Our blood pressure is usually low in the morning because the body has not woken up yet; the heart and blood vessels are napping and are in no hurry to tune into a businesslike mood. It’s time to help them! A hot, fragrant cup comes to the rescue! Especially if there is intense mental or physical work when a lot of energy or emotions will be needed.
It is not surprising that people of various professions start their day with coffee, where attention, memory, concentration, or muscle strength are valued. And that is the main reason why a lot of serious companies have Lavazza office coffee, as they’re one of the best on the market.
Why is coffee served with water?
It would seem that the answer is obvious: to shade the noble bitterness in taste and to help you not to burn yourself while taking a hot sip. But this is only at first glance. Its primary purpose is to protect our stomach from an emergency release of hydrochloric acid, which necessarily occurs when we drink something strong and hot at the same time.
Water dilutes the acid in the stomach, making it less concentrated.
Also, a sip of water after coffee acts as a kind of toothbrush, protecting our enamel from the coloring pigment contained in coffee beans.
Hello, night owls
Don’t drink coffee in the late evening if you’re not a night owl. Any drink containing caffeine keeps you awake for a long time, and instead of having sweet dreams, you will be tossing around your bed. Besides, when you are in a horizontal position, it can cause dizziness or even migraine.
Therefore, you should have your favorite drink not later than 3-4 hours before bedtime, and preferably even earlier.
Conclusion
There are about 240 varieties of coffee trees, many recipes, and ways to consume this wonderful invigorating drink…
But, despite such diversity of it and the fact that we are all different, we still have one thing in common: we adore its great taste and heady aroma.
Don’t overdo with it. Remember that caffeine’s lethal dose is approximately 100 cups of coffee (stop at the 99th). It is better to take an example from the French philosopher Voltaire — he drank up to 50 cups of coffee per day.