Is coffee good for your health? Here are the healthy reasons you should drink coffee.
But how do you enjoy the health benefits of coffee? By making your coffee super healthy
…And in this article, we are going to share with you some easy and simple ways to make your coffee healthier.
Learning how to make your coffee healthier involves both an art and science. Given that the number of coffee lovers who enjoy the beverage every day in America, who are aged above 18 has reached 54%, it’s important to learn how to make this delicious beverage healthier.
Many health professionals believe that coffee is the healthiest beverage of all. It is perhaps the largest source of nutrients and vitamins than vegetables and fruits combined.
So what’s the healthiest thing to add in your coffee? What is the healthiest way to sweeten coffee? What’s the healthiest milk for coffee? Which coffee creamer is the healthiest?
We are going to answer all these questions.
Shall we start?
Okay, let’s get rolling.
1. Know When to Take Coffee
Coffee contains more caffeine than any other beverage out there that’s why people get stimulated when they drink coffee.
Usually, caffeine keeps you alert especially when you feel exhausted. That means, taking it at the wrong time can have adverse effects on your body. For instance, drinking coffee before you sleep can deny you quality sleep and lack of enough sleep can lead to serious health problems.
If you feel you can’t stay without coffee, you’d better drink something that doesn’t contain caffeine- tea does not contain too much caffeine.
A good rule of thumb is to avoid drinking coffee past 2 PM. But if coffee doesn’t affect your sleep, you can drink coffee at any time.
2. Drink it Black
Yes, black coffee has a bold flavor and is bitter if you start drinking it, but you get used to the bitterness as you keep drinking it.
The good thing about black coffee, especially espresso is that it does not contain more calories. You’d keep your calories low as you make your coffee healthier by drinking regular brew that does not contain other ingredients.
3. Sweeten Coffee Without Using Sugary Ingredients
Coffee contains antioxidants that are beneficial to your health but adding more sugar can make it toxic for your health.
Sugar contains high amounts of fructose that is said to cause serious illnesses such as diabetes, obesity, and more.
The good thing is that there are plenty of ways you can sweeten coffee without sugar. If you are used to adding more sugar to your coffee, you need to educate yourself on how to reduce your sugar intake before it becomes detrimental to your health.
4. Limit Your Coffee Intake
Although coffee is beneficial to your health, too much of it can be detrimental to your wellbeing.
Health experts advise coffee drinkers to take coffee depending on your body weight. Besides, an average cup of coffee can have up to 95 mg of caffeine. That means someone who weighs 80kg should take two cups of coffee per day.
Too much caffeine is linked to various side effects like:
Insomnia
Although caffeine helps in keeping you awake, too much caffeine can affect your sleep. In fact, some studies suggest that drinking too much coffee can decrease your sleep time, especially for older people.
Well, caffeine is also found in other beverages apart from tea and coffee. These include cocoa, energy drinks, and soda.
Various factors determine the amount of caffeine you can take without affecting your sleep.
Overall, caffeine is good as it keeps you alert and active, but too much of it can interfere with your sleep quality and quantity.
Anxiety
Caffeine intake helps you to stay awake since it inhibits adenosine, a compound in your brain that triggers feelings of tiredness. Moreover, caffeine stimulates the production of adrenaline, a chemical that boosts energy.
Nevertheless, too much coffee can worsen these effects hence making you feel anxious and nervous.
You need to observe how you feel after taking coffee as this will help you understand when it’s time to cut back on your coffee intake.
Addiction
Although coffee has many health benefits, it can become addictive over time. While coffee may not lead to the same addiction as with cocaine and other drugs, when taken in high amounts, it can lead to psychological and physical addiction.
Raises blood pressure
Caffeine has not yet been linked largely to heart disease or stroke, nevertheless, it is said to increase blood pressure since it stimulates the nervous system.
High blood pressure can damage blood vessels thus affecting the movement of blood to other parts of the body including your brain and heart. ..And this can be serious especially for heavy-bodied people during exercise.
Overall, when taken in large amounts, caffeine can raise blood pressure. People aren’t used to caffeine should, therefore, avoid taking coffee before exercising.
Speeds up the heartbeat
Caffeine intake can stimulate the nervous system and this can increase heartbeat. Besides, too much caffeine can change the way the heart beats and this is said to happen in young people.
Well, some people may not experience this problem. Moreover, even people with heart issues may not experience difficulties after taking large amounts of caffeine.
Overall, while the effects of taking too much caffeine may not increase heart rate for everyone, it’s important to observe how you feel after taking coffee so that you can know when to regulate your coffee intake.
How much caffeine is too much caffeine?
Caffeine is preferred for its ability to keep people awake, improve focus, and ease fatigue, among several other benefits. However, it can be detrimental to your health when consumed in large doses. For that reason, you need to know how to cut back your caffeine intake.
A good rule of thumb is to drink four cups of brewed coffee per day. However, you should keep in mind that the caffeine content is not the same in different beverages. …And while caffeine is good for adults, it’s not healthy for children. Even for adults, when taken in large doses, caffeine can lead to adverse side effects.
Otherwise, if you are drinking 4 cups of coffee a day and you experience side effects such as nervousness, insomnia, stomach upset, irritability, migraine headache, or fast heart rate, you should decrease your coffee intake.
5. Buy Quality Coffee
The growing and processing of coffee can impact its quality. Some people use pesticides and other chemicals on coffee beans and these chemicals can be harmful to humans. Well, no enough research shows how harmful these pesticides can be to human but a good rule of thumb is to choose quality coffee preferably organic coffee beans.
6. Brew Coffee With Filtered Water Only
Sometimes because water is boiled before brewing, many people think that any water can brew healthier coffee but that’s not the truth.
Although filtered water may not taste sweet, it is good for your health.
Filtered water does not contain heavy metals such as copper which are harmful to your health. Besides, tap water contains too much chlorine which is also unhealthy when consumed in large quantities.
7. Put Some Cinnamon in Your Coffee
Cinnamon can add flavor to your coffee. Cinnamon is also said to bring down cholesterol and blood glucose.
Add some cinnamon to your coffee to enjoy the following benefits.
Cinnamon enhances the taste of your coffee
Once you add some cinnamon to your coffee, you will get a different taste that’s not similar to the taste of other ingredients. Cinnamon will sweeten your coffee without adding sugar.
Cinnamon increases your brain alertness
Caffeine is a stimulant that keeps your brain functioning properly, especially in the morning; besides, adding cinnamon can boost your brain’s cognitive processing and brain functioning altogether.
A study by Wheeling Jesuit University suggests that only smelling cinnamon can boost your brain’s processing capabilities. That means adding the ingredients to your coffee is even more beneficial.
Cinnamon contains antioxidants
Cinnamon contains large amounts of antioxidants that are helpful to nourish the skin. Experts say that cinnamon is a diet-friendly spice. Some studies suggest that a tablespoon of cinnamon contains more antioxidants than a half cup of blueberries.
Cinnamon can prevent high blood sugar
Cinnamon is the healthiest additive than sugar and many other ingredients. The spice can help prevent damaging effects of sugar and can also improve the effectiveness of insulin.
Cinnamon can boost energy
The Huffington Post suggests that cinnamon, when combined with caffeinated coffee, can boost your energy. When you add cinnamon to coffee, you not only become attentive but you also get more energized.
Cinnamon improves your heart health
Another study by Penn State shows that cinnamon, when added to coffee, can decrease your likelihood of suffering from heart-related illnesses. Cinnamon inhibits the damaging triglycerides, a compound that causes blockage of the arteries.
Cinnamon is a rich source of vitamins and nutrients
Besides the benefits of cinnamon we have mentioned above, the spice contains plenty of vitamins and nutrients. Health experts note that one tablespoon of cinnamon contains 4 grams of fiber, 68 percent of your everyday manganese, 8 percent of your everyday calcium, 4 percent of your everyday iron, and 3 percent of your everyday vitamin K dose.
That means you get plenty of benefits when you add cinnamon to your coffee.
8. Ditch Low-Fat and Non-natural Creamers
Due to the processing nature of non-natural creamers and commercial low fat, they tend to contain unhealthy components.
Some creamers may be healthier but it’s wise to consider whole natural creamers than artificial ones.
9. Use Almond Milk
Almond milk does not contain too many calories like regular milk. In fact, according to Dr. Oz, if you aren’t allergic to nuts, you could benefit a lot by adding almond milk to your coffee. Adding whole milk to your cup of coffee means consuming 180 calories but almond minimizes your calorie intake to 100 calories in each serving.
10. Don’t Drink Coffee When Hungry
A good rule of thumb is to take coffee when you have already put something on your stomach.
While drinking coffee in the morning is said to kick-start your day, taking it before you eat something is said to cause some health problems such as increased anxiety and damaged stomach lining.
Once you wake up, before you drink coffee, eat breakfast first. Moreover, you should not take too much coffee during the day and limit your coffee intake past 2 PM to avoid affecting your sleep.
11. Put Some Cocoa to Your Coffee
Similar to cinnamon, cocoa is another rich source of antioxidants and is also said to be helpful when it comes to preventing health problems such as the risk of heart problems. Cocoa adds flavor to your coffee as well.
In a certain study, coffee drinkers who consumed coffee with cocoa committed fewer errors. Besides, those who took coffee combined with cocoa were less anxious than those who consumed plain coffee.
12. Use a Paper Filter When Making Coffee
Coffee has cafestol, a substance that’s said to alleviate cholesterol levels in the blood. But you can bring down the level of the cafestol by using a paper filter during brewing. A paper filter will sieve out cafestol so only helpful antioxidants and caffeine will get into your cup of coffee.
Final Thoughts
Coffee is a stimulant. It can give you morning a huge boost and can make you stay alert the whole day and that’s why millions of people drink it every day. While coffee has been linked to various health benefits, there is much you can do to enhance the benefits even more.
First, try to add other natural sweeteners apart from sugar to make your coffee healthier. Secondly, add cinnamon to make your coffee flavorful.
Also, avoid drinking coffee beyond 3 PM. By doing this and adhering to the tips we have shared above, you can make your coffee healthier.
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