We all love our morning cup of coffee. It has been both praised and mocked for centuries. It has been blamed to cause impotence and madness, other times a cure for laziness or “gift from heaven”. Caffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world and is the best-known ingredient of coffee.
It is beneficial to the human body but if taken in the excess amount it can cause many problems. Every other week, a new study is released that coffee is healthy or harmful. So when you’re considering your morning coffee, here are some health facts to keep in mind:
THE GOOD
1. Weight loss and diabetes: Studies have linked coffee consumption with improved glucose metabolism, reduced risk of Type 2 diabetes and promotion of weight loss in overweight people. Researchers aren’t sure why but suspect that the antioxidants in coffee help deliver insulin to the body’s tissues.
2. Cancer: According to recent data, heavy consumption (4-6 cups per day) can reduce the risk of numerous cancers. The benefits are thought to be at least partially due to coffee’s antioxidant and anti-mutagenic properties.
3. Brightens mood helps fight depression and lowers risk of suicide: Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system and boosts production of neurotransmitter like serotonin, dopamine, and noradrenalin, which elevate your mood. Two cups of coffee a day prevents the risk of suicide by 50 %.Coffee drinkers reportedly have significantly decreased the risk of developing depression.
4. Helps to stay focus and stay alerted: Moderate caffeine intake, 1-6 cups a day, helps in focusing and improving our mental alertness.
THE BAD
1. Causes Wrinkles. Even though it has antioxidants, if you drink too much of it, it can cause wrinkling of the skin. It can result into dehydration which is the worst thing for your skin. So when you’re drinking that morning cup or two, make sure that you’re pairing it with water.
2. Cause Rheumatoid Arthritis: A study revealed that those who drank four or more cups of coffee a day were twice as likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers believe some as-yet-unidentified ingredient (particularly in unfiltered coffee) could trigger the disease.
3. Osteoporosis: A study found that those who drank two cups of coffee a day suffered a greater loss in bone density than those who didn’t because caffeine acts as a diuretic, increasing the amount of calcium excreted in urine.
So… Is Coffee Healthy or Harmful?
There are some people who need to avoid or severely limit coffee consumption, especially pregnant women. People with anxiety issues, high blood pressure or insomnia should limit coffee for a while to see if it helps. But for average person coffee can have important beneficial effects on health. It belongs in the same category as healthy beverages like green tea.
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