Coffee is a brewed drink which is made from roasted coffee beans – seeds of berries from the Coffea plant. Coffea is indigenous to Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and Réunion.
Coffee is a favorite drink with most people starting their day with it to get going. Some people enjoy their coffee and may reap health benefits, whilst some may suffer from certain negative effects of coffee.
Health Benefits Of Drinking Coffee Daily
- Coffee can enhance energy levels and make you alert: Coffee makes you feel less tired and boosts energy levels. Coffee contains a stimulant called caffeine, which gets absorbed into the blood. It then travels to your brain, where it blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine. Consequently, the amount of other neurotransmitters such as – nor-epinephrine and dopamine increase, leading to enhanced firing of neurons. Thus, research shows coffee improves memory, elevates the mood, and perks up energy levels as well as cognitive functioning.
- Coffees helps burn fat and lose weight: Clinical trials have demonstrated that caffeine peps up one’s metabolic rate by 3 to 11 % and thereby helps burn fat successfully.Caffeine stimulates the nervous system, and makes it transmit messages to the fat cells to break it down.
- Boosts physical performance: Caffeine increases the level of adrenaline in the blood. Adrenaline is a ‘fight or flight’ hormone which helps prepare the body for rigorous physical exertion. Coffee also breaks down fat cells, which are released as free fatty acids and are made accessible as fuel. Thus, research shows that caffeine perks up performance by about 11-12 %.
- Coffee could help lower your risk of diabetes mellitus type 2: Clinical trials have demonstrated that coffee drinkers have a considerably diminished risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Studies reveal that people who drink coffee regularly have a 25-50% lesser risk of developing the disorder.
- Coffee may ward off Alzheimer’s disease: Alzheimer’s afflicts a large chunk of the population over 65 years of age. Regrettably, there is no known cure for the condition. Several studies have shown that coffee drinkers have a 65% lesser risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
Disadvantages Of Drinking Too Much Coffee
- Poor digestion of food: Drinking coffee early in the morning, on an empty stomach, increases the synthesis and release of hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid ought to be released to digest meals. If the body manufactures hydrochloric acid oftener, it may have some trouble manufacturing adequate amounts to digest a large meal. As a consequence to this, foods do not get digested properly. Protein digestion in particular gets affected if the level of hydrochloric acid is less and protein-based foods pass into the small intestine before they have been broken down. Protein that has not been broken down properly can set off a host of health issues, such as – gaseous distension of the abdomen, irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis and even colon cancer.
- Acidity, heartburn and ulcers: Caffeine is known to irritate the stomach lining. Coffee can trigger acidity and heartburn, ulcer formation, gastritis, irritable bowel syndrome and Crohn’s disease. Ulcers are usually caused by the H. pylori bacteria. Coffee irritates and inflames the mucus membrane of the stomach and this contributes to a weakened stomach lining necessary and as a result the H. pylori bacteria take hold and proliferate.
- Increases nervousness: When you drink too much coffee, stress hormones cortisol, epinephrine and nor-epinephrine get released. These raise the blood pressure, heart rate, as well as anxiety levels. It can make you jittery and chaotic.
Hence, moderation is the key; don’t consume excessively large amounts of coffee, it can produce undesirable effects. Drink about 1 to 2 cups of coffee, in case you are hooked on to the brew.