If you are looking for a healthy drink, then you will want to skip the energy drinks and the flavored juices. Instead, choose to wrap your hands around a warm cup of coffee. There are many health benefits of drinking coffee any time of day.
Reduce Minor Aches and Pains
According to the University of Georgia, drinking two cups of coffee reduces post-workout pain by up to 48 percent. While scientists have long believed it was the caffeine in coffee that provided the relief, a study by Embrapa Genetic Resources and Biotechnology and the University of Brasilia in Brazil has isolated a protein in coffee that is responsible for the pain relief.
Protect Your Liver
According to many research studies, people who drink one cup of coffee a day have a 22 percent chance of developing liver cirrhosis. Those who drink four cups or more per day can reduce that chance by up to 65 percent. This could be because the diterpenes found in coffee help stop liver inflammation.
Lower the Risk of Diabetes
According to researchers at Harvard University, drinking at least one cup of coffee per day may lower the risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes by 11 percent. Pour another cup of coffee, because those who drank at least six cups daily (as well as and those who cannot face a day without a cup of coffee) showed the best results.
Stop Alzheimer’s
Drinking at least three cups of coffee can help stop Alzheimer’s even in seniors who have early dementia. Research shows that the beta-amyloid protein in coffee helps reduce swelling in the brain that is associated with this debilitating disease. A study by the University of California finds that consuming at least 200 milligrams of caffeine helps improve the memory.
Improve Your Mood
Research published in the Archives of Internal Medicine found that those who drank at least two cups of coffee each day were 15 percent less likely to be diagnosed with depression over a 10 year period. Meanwhile, research published in the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry found that people who drank coffee daily were 50 percent less likely to commit suicide. Research suggests that there is a direct link between the amount of coffee consumed each day and a person’s happiness level.
Protect Your Heart
Research published in Circulation looking at over 1 million people found that moderate coffee drinkers were less likely to develop cardiovascular diseases. If you do
not want to die of heart failure, then research published in Circulation: Heart Failure suggests that four cups daily is ideal. Drinking coffee regularly reduces the chance of
calcium buildups in the arteries causing a heart attack by 40 percent, according to researchers at John Hopkins University.
The United States Federal Drug Administration Drinking reports that 80 to 100 cups of coffee quickly can kill you. Outside these absurdly extreme circumstances, however, drinking coffee may improve your health. Regular exercisers who drink coffee are less bothered by minor aches and pains. Drinking coffee may help protect the liver, stop heart attacks and keep Alzheimer’s at bay. Pour another cup of java to brighten your mood. Go ahead and have another cup before you head out the door each day.
Photo credit: “I love coffee” by Dennis Skley, used under CC BY-ND
