Coffee is one of those habits that everyone swears to break around January 1st. The reasons for its fate on someone’s list of discarded vices are numerous. The crash it produces, the stains it leaves behind and the expense that accompanies it are just some of the reasons that most people want to kick this habit.
Fortunately for coffee lovers, the need you feel to leave coffee behind is often misguided. Research suggests that there are huge benefits to drinking coffee. In fact, 20 studies suggest that people who drink coffee can live longer than those who give it up. As it turns out, it is the people who drink the most coffee who have a 14% lower risk of dying early from any cause compared to people who give it up. Even if you switch to decaf, this does not affect that lower risk.
Those aiming to save cash and tooth enamel wonder how this could be. It seems counterintuitive that one of your biggest addictions could be good for you. Yet, here are seven reasons why your coffee could prolong your life.
Drinking Coffee Prevents Stroke
A recent study published by the American Heart Association found that those who drink one cup of coffee per day had a 20% decreased risk of having a stroke over the next decade. This study was groundbreaking because normally, it is the properties found in tea that take this spot.
Drinking Coffee Prevents Heart Disease
Drinking coffee is good for your heart because of the amount of caffeine it includes.
Caffeine is good for your heart in healthy doses because it has a positive effect on your metabolism. It not only stimulates your central nervous system but it also releases the free fatty acids from your fatty tissue.
Of course, too much caffeine can be bad for your heart. Though, its real effect on coronary heart disease is currently disputed. Regardless, having a cup or two of coffee per day is healthy and can even have positive effects on your heart.
Drinking Coffee Prevents Suicide
A study released by Harvard in 2013 demonstrated a link between coffee drink and lower risks of suicide.
The study found that adults that drink two to four cups of coffee per day were half as likely to commit suicide as those who drank little to no coffee. The study also found that this was only true if the coffee was caffeinated. Those who drank decaf fell into the same categories that those who drink no coffee were in.
The results of this study come back to caffeine. Caffeine, in healthy doses, can act like a mild antidepressant by helping your brain produce more dopamine, serotonin and noradrenaline.
Drinking Coffee Prevents Neurological Diseases
Drinking coffee can help you ward off neurological diseases that often accompany old age. Some studies show that those who drink coffee have as much as a 65% lower risk of developing dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee drinkers also have a 32-60% lower risk of developing Parkinson’s.
Drinking Coffee Prevents Type 2 Diabetes
Coffee can help prevent consumers from developing type 2 diabetes.
A study from 2004 suggested that having coffee before you eat can result in a higher level of glucose in your body after your meal. It also results in a higher level of insulin resistance, which is good for diabetes prevention. Think how much that can help offset the effects of smoking cigarettes which people often do with this thing, though many prefer tovape it now .
However, this does not work to treat type 2 diabetes. Alas, coffee has negative effects for those who already struggle with the disease.
Drinking Coffee Helps You Burn Fat
As noted, caffeine has an effect on several metabolic processes. It also has an effect on your metabolic rate and can boost it by 3-11%. When your metabolism is boosted, it is easier to burn excess fat. Some studies show that it can help you burn as much as 10% of your fat for those who are obese and 29% of fat for already lean people.
However, a white chocolate mocha with two pumps of raspberry and extra whipped cream is not likely to help you burn fat. All the sugar can offset the effects of the caffeine.
Drinking Coffee Helps Protect Your Liver
Your liver is essential for life but it can be plagued by a few common diseases. These diseases can lead to cirrhosis, where the liver becomes ineffective because it is transformed into scar tissue.
Drinking coffee can help protect your liver from cirrhosis. Those who drink at least four cups a day have an 80% lower risk of cirrhosis than those who drink less.
Coffee culture lovers rejoice. Your barista is creating you the drink of immortality. Of course, this 15% boost in life expectancy is only good for non-smokers. If you’re looking for that vice to quit, coffee is not it.