The number one source of antioxidants in the world: coffee! I love it, and I have it regularly.
It is a superfood with a lot of unique benefits. I’ve been using coffee for a long time to get a lot of enhancements.
If you get it, make sure it’s organic so it doesn’t have pesticides and herbicides.
You can overdo it, and we’re going to talk about how much is too much, but first, check out these nine benefits!
1. Athletic Performance
Drinking coffee before a workout can improve your performance and endurance by giving you a little extra energy boost.
A lot of people who like being active drink coffee before they exercise.
Coffee is an ergogenic aid, and that’s what gives you that little extra boost.
A study of 126 people found that coffee can also help improve your gait, your walking, and your performance.
2. Increased Longevity
Research has shown that drinking three cups of coffee a day, decaf or full-caf, is linked to a 17% reduction in mortality.
Another review of 40 studies showed that just drinking two to four cups of coffee a day lowered the risk associated with death, including factors of age, weight, status, and even alcohol consumption.
In another study, having at least one cup of coffee was shown to prevent cancer cases.
One of the main reasons for this is that coffee is our number one source of antioxidants, so it’s preventing DNA damage and free radical damage inside of the body.
3. Heart Health
Research shows that just drinking three to five cups of coffee a day is tied to a 15% reduction in heart disease.
Another 21 studies show that drinking three to four cups a day lowers your stroke risk by 21%.
Another study with over 20,000 people showed that increasing coffee intake was associated with a significant decrease in heart failure.
4. Liver Health
Studies have shown that drinking two cups of coffee a day can help lower scarring in the liver, and the risk of developing liver cancer.
In fact, drinking four cups of coffee a day can lower your risk of liver disease by 71%.
Just one cup of coffee a day can lower it by up to 15%.
5. Lowering Depression
I’m always in a good mood when I have my cup of coffee, and studies have found an 8% reduction in depression symptoms in those that have a cup of coffee each day.
People who drink four cups a day compared to one cup had even lower amounts of depression.
It has also been shown in a large study of 200,000 people that those who drink a cup of coffee had lowered incident rates of suicide.
6. Fat-Burning
If you get the right coffee, it can have some really good fat-burning properties.
In fact, there’s 12 studies that found that people who consumed coffee had less weight in the midsection, especially men.
Another study linked coffee to decreased body fat in women.
7. Brain Health
Coffee may have impacts on long-term aging effects because of its antioxidants.
Research has found that people who drank coffee had significantly less risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
Another study that looked at 29,000 people found a noticeably lower risk of Alzheimer’s for coffee drinkers in general.
Coffee’s been shown in several studies to decrease aging of the brain and dementia-like symptoms.
8. Lowers Blood Sugar Levels
This is good news for diabetics, and for all of us who are trying to keep the weight off and in shape.
Research has shown a 6% reduction in blood sugar in people that consume coffee each day.
Coffee’s been shown to have an impact on the body’s abilities to produce insulin, to control the energy in your system, and to regulate blood sugar levels overall.
It’s the antioxidants that are going to have a big impact on your metabolism, liver, inflammation, and insulin sensitivity.
The antioxidants also affect how your cells respond to insulin in general, and how you burn off energy.
A lot of people are insulin-resistant, and coffee can actually help fight that.
9. Energy
I know there’s the caffeine buzz that you get, but coffee also helps to increase your brain’s dopamine levels, which is why you’re happier after you have a cup of coffee.
One study found that coffee actually reduces your fatigue levels by 12%.
They’ve tested it on different activities, and you’re able to focus and perform better, and not fatigue during tasks.
That’s especially helpful if you’re at work and need to focus.
Do’s and Don’ts With Coffee
Now, we don’t want to over-consume coffee. Too much of anything is a bad thing; you can even overdo it with water!
Six cups of coffee is the limit.
Once you start going over that, you could mess with higher blood pressure or have some negative effects on the heart.
You could make some kind of a cold brew or have half-caf coffee to switch it up and negate some of the caffeine’s effects.
You also want to make sure that the coffee is organic.
If you can’t get organic, at least get shade-grown, because then they’re not using all the herbicides and pesticides on it.
That all ends up in you, and makes the coffee way more acidic and way more toxic.
You’re consuming a bunch of chemicals, which is going to negate a lot of the benefits.
I like to have mine fermented, which is a natural coffee where they ferment the cherry.
You’re getting some more of those good probiotic bacteria out of it, and preserving those delicate antioxidants to really enhance the body and the brain.
I also like to add extra antioxidants to mine.
For more info on that, here’s a link to the ultimate coffee playlist I put together for recipes, how to use it, and how to shop for it.
