That first coffee in the morning is more than just a treat – it has become a deeply ingrained ritual and many of us can’t imagine how we would start the day without it.
From soy lattes to long blacks, spending on coffee in the average Australian household has risen from sixty cents a week in the mid-1970s to $5.77 a week between 2009 and 2010. While the price of coffee has increased during this time, there is no doubt that the Australians’ love affair with coffee is more than just an affair.
We’ve listed seven reasons below that will help you keep your coffee dream alive, and they’ll be easy to remember, because coffee is good that way.
COFFEE IS FULL OF ANTIOXIDANTS
Coffee is the highest source of antioxidants in the Western diet, surpassing fresh fruits and vegetables. You would need to eat large amounts of berries to get the amount of antioxidants that are consumed in a couple of cups of coffee.
Antioxidants are friendly little molecules. They donate electrons to free radicals. Free radicals constantly attack our bodies with unpaired electrons that can disrupt cellular structures like proteins and DNA. Distributing electrons to free radicals is the same as giving them a “chill pill” and can result in better overall health.
COFFEE HELPS WITH YOUR MEMORY
Coffee is a well-known stimulant. You know that buzz you feel when you take your first sip… or even when you smell coffee? Well, that’s the active ingredient caffeine. In addition to the obvious stimulating effects of caffeine, some studies show that it helps improve the brain’s memory capacity.
A group of participants participated in a study in which they were asked to recall images displayed on a screen. Some were given a strong caffeine tablet and others were given a placebo. The research showed that those given the caffeine tablet were better able to recall the images than those given the placebo.
COFFEE CAN HELP WITH DEPRESSION
Have you ever had a cup of coffee and felt your mood improve? A study of more than 50,000 older women over ten years found that those who drank little or no coffee were 15% more likely to experience depression than those who drank coffee every other day or more. Why is that?
Well, coffee helps the brain release dopamine, which sends signals to other nerve cells. But not just any old and boring signal… dopamine is related to reward and is responsible for the sensations of feeling in love, happy and motivated.
COFFEE CAN HELP YOU LIVE LONGER
While coffee isn’t a magical elixir that will keep you young, it does have far-reaching effects on your health, which can help you live longer. Because coffee has been shown to reduce cardiovascular and neurological diseases, as well as lowering the risk of suicide, studies have shown that for those reasons, it reduces mortality risk among coffee drinkers.
COFFEE MAY LOWER RISK OF TYPE 2 DIABETES
Energy is created in our body thanks to insulin. When your body doesn’t have enough insulin, you’re at risk of developing type 2 diabetes, the most common form of diabetes.
Some researchers believe that type 2 diabetes is caused by a buildup of a protein called HIAPP, which in turn can cause cells in the pancreas to die. Three compounds found in a regular cup of coffee helped stop this toxic buildup, protecting the pancreas and lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.
COFFEE MAY REDUCE THE RISK OF ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
While there is no cure for Alzheimer’s, there is some speculation about what causes the disease. Accumulation of beta amyloid is suspected of causing Alzheimer’s, a protein in the brain, and is found to be more consistently increased in Alzheimer’s patients.
Your friend coffee can lower amyloid beta levels and studies have shown that coffee drinkers are less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than their non-coffee drinking counterparts.
YOUR LIVER LOVES COFFEE
We’ve probably saved the best for last: Drinking more coffee can help reduce the damage caused by eating too much food and alcohol.
Using more than 430,000 study participants and data from previous studies, researchers found that those who drank two or more cups of coffee a day were 44% less likely to develop liver cirrhosis among those surveyed. It all goes back to the high level of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties in coffee. But be careful… adding sugars, syrups or whiskey to coffee is not recommended as they could stress the liver.
