If you can't start your day without a cup of coffee, you're far from alone. Coffee is a beloved beverage known for its ability to fine-tune your focus and boost your energy levels. The taste and the very quick jolt of caffeine can make all the difference in your day. But there are actually some real health benefits to drinking a cup of coffee — they go way beyond just making you feel wide awake (although we love the energy rush, too). Coffee has been linked to a long list of potential health benefits, giving you all the more reason to get brewing.
Energy boost
Coffee contains caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant that is known for its ability to fight fatigue and increase energy levels When you drink a cup of caffeinated coffee, your central nervous system perks up, which controls the majority of your body and mind functions. One small study found that consuming caffeine increased time to exhaustion during a cycling exercise by 12% and significantly reduced subjective levels of fatigue in participants.
Improves brain function
Looking for a little brainpower? The results showed that coffee benefited attention and memory.Coffee is a natural stimulant which activates our central nervous system, making us feel less tired, while at the same time improving our ability to concentrate, focus, and quickly react. Researchers believe that the chlorogenic acids (polyphenols) in the arabica coffee contributed to increased benefits.
Helps burn fat
If you’re trying to lose weight, add coffee to your go-to beverage choices. Caffeine helps fat cells break down body fat and use it as fuel for training. Caffeinated coffee, in particular, may increase the number of calories and amount of fat you burn, making it easier to lose weight.
Helps physical performance
A meta-analysis found that caffeine intake enhanced aerobic endurance, muscle strength, muscle endurance, power, jumping performance, and exercise speed.Coffee stimulates the body to use fat stores, instead of muscle glycogen (sugar), during long workouts. This allows for prolonged use of working muscles.
May help lower type 2 diabetes risk
Caffeinated or not, drinking coffee may help prevent the development of type 2 diabetes. In fact, researchers found that each cup of coffee people consumed per day was linked to a 6% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. This is thought to be due to coffee’s ability to preserve the function of the beta cells in your pancreas, which are responsible for producing insulin to regulate blood sugar levels
Plus, it’s rich in antioxidants and may affect insulin sensitivity, inflammation, and metabolism — all of which are involved in the development of type 2 diabetes.
Helps reduce depression
If you’re feeling the blues or have diagnosed depression, coffee may help boost your mood. Drinking a cup or two of coffee tends to make you feel good mentally, there's a reason for that: A 2014 study published in the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry found that coffee actually acts as a mild antidepressant by boosting feel-good neurotransmitters in the brain. After examining 44,000 men and 74,000 women, they found a few cups of brew even reduced the risk of suicide by 50 percent.
Protect against liver conditions
Your morning cup of coffee may be prolonging your life, as studies have shown that coffee consumption is associated with decreased mortality. This claim is backed up by a 2012 study, which found that drinking 6 or more cups of coffee decreased the risk of death by 10 percent in men and 15 percent in women. Coffee consumption could be linked to a decreased risk of death from chronic liver disease, along with other conditions, like liver scarring and liver cancer.
Supports heart health
One key antioxidant in coffee is called Chlorogenic acid. It is a beneficial plant-based compound that is known to help reduce inflammation and promote heart health. Besides, it is also known to play a role in protecting against chronic diseases by reducing oxidative damage. Coffee could be associated with a lower risk of death, regardless of other factors, like age, weight status, or alcohol consumption.
May lower cancer risks
Coffee contains a range of biologically active compounds, including caffeine, chlorogenic acid, and diterpenes, which may have beneficial effects because of their antioxidant, anti-tumor, and anti-inflammatory properties. Coffee drinking may lower the risk of endometrial cancer by reducing estrogen levels or through an insulin-mediated mechanism. The influence of coffee on digestive tract motility and liver metabolism may contribute to a lower risk for some digestive cancers.
May lower your stroke risks
Researchers found that people who drank two to three cups of coffee or three to five cups of tea a day, or a combination of four to six cups of coffee and tea, had the lowest risk of stroke or dementia. Moderate consumption of coffee and tea separately or in combination were associated with lower risk of stroke and dementia.
It’s important to know that higher coffee intake is associated with a higher frequency of smoking. It’s also associated with the decreased chance of a stroke. But according to one study, strokes, heart failure, diabetes, and hypertension were all less frequent in individuals who had 3 or more cups of coffee each day.