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17 Mind-blowing Reasons You Should Drink More Joe (8 and 10 are Incredible!)
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There is no denying that Americans love their coffee. With more than 10,000 Starbucks locations in 2012 alone, it’s not surprising that more than 50 percent of Americans over the age of 18 drink at least one cup of Joe every day.
It’s true that coffee has caffeine and some people avoid it because it can be addictive, but let’s be honest here, it’s certainly not the same type of addiction as heroin or cocaine! It’s simply coffee and if you want to quit, no problem, you will be free of the physical effects in a few days with nothing more than a headache to show for it.
But why stop when coffee actually has so many health benefits going for it? We are talking about so much more than just being able to face Monday mornings! Coffee is simply amazing for your brain, your skin, your body, and so much more.
Start another pot of coffee and keep reading about all the reasons why you can feel happy about waking up and smelling the coffee!
1. Reduces Your Chance of Skin Cancer
Well, at least studies show that this is true for women. Brigham and Women’s Hospital, as well as Harvard Medical School followed almost 113,000 women and men over a 20 year period. They found that women who drank more than three cups of coffee every day were much less likely to develop skin cancer than those who didn’t drink coffee or drank less than one cup each day, on average. There did not seem to be any benefit in this area for men and although scientists don’t understand why, the benefit for women is still there. So ladies, use less sunscreen and drink more coffee.
2. Improves Energy Levels
Coffee can help people feel less tired while increasing energy levels. This is, of course, due to the caffeine, the most commonly consumed stimulant in the world. Caffeine goes directly to the bloodstream, then to the brain where it blocks a neurotransmitter called adenosine. This will cause other neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and norepinephrine to increase, which will lead to an enhanced firing of other neurons. Feel the burn, friends, and try a cup of Joe before that workout or that big meeting this afternoon!
3. Linked to Improved Mental Health
The Harvard School of Public Health showed that men and women who drank between two and four cups of coffee daily reduced the overall risk of committing suicide by as much as 50 percent. Scientists believe this can be due to the production of feel good neurotransmitters such as dopamine and serotonin.
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4. Helps to Burn Fat
Have you ever noticed that all those fat burning or diet supplements all contain caffeine? This is because caffeine is one of the few natural substances that have been proven in studies to actually help the body burn fat by increasing the metabolism by as much as 11 percent! Other studies have shown that caffeine can increase the burning of fat as fuel by as much as 29 percent in persons who have normal weights and as much as 10 percent in those who are obese. Seems as if it should be the other way around, but that’s the way it works.
5. Lowers Stress Levels
Seoul National University conducted a study involving rats who were stressed out due to sleep deprivation. Scientists found that simply smelling coffee changed the brain proteins that are associated with stress in these rats. Now this study did not look at other forms of stress, only stress from sleep deprivation, but if you love the smell of coffee, you might want to try keeping a small sealed bag of beans or freshly ground coffee in your pocket or purse and whip it out for a few big sniffs when you are feeling stressed and see if it works for you!
6. Improves Physical Performance
Since caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, it increases adrenaline levels in the blood. If you have ever gotten that adrenaline rush then you know how super charged it can make you feel. Caffeine will also brake down fat cells in the body and release them into the blood to be used a fuel. Studies show that consuming caffeinated drinks, such as coffee, before working out or performing other physical tasks can improve physical performance by as much as 12 percent. So have a strong cup of Joe before you hit the gym and amaze everyone!
BE AWARE! 5 Great Reasons to Avoid America’s Most Popular Coffee Shop
7. Super Antioxidant Power
A study done in 2005 showed that nothing else holds a candle to the antioxidant power of coffee. Nothing! Although many fruits, vegetables, and seeds have tons of antioxidants, the human body, for some reason, seems to absorb the most antioxidants from a simple cup of coffee. Antioxidants are super important because they fight free radicals in the body. Free radicals are known to cause damage to our DNA and our body tissue at a cellular level, which is the source of many chronic diseases, including cancer.
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8. Makes You Smarter
Who doesn’t want a little more brain power? Studies show that coffee makes your brain work in a much more efficient, and therefore smarter, manner. Coffee improves you attention span, logical reasoning, reaction time. All of the things that you associate with intelligence are improved with a simple cup of coffee. If you need a reason to drink more coffee, this one is probably the best of the bunch!
9. Contains Important Nutrients
If you think coffee is nothing more than some flavored water, think again! Coffee has tons of nutrients as well, including:
- Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)
- Magnesium
- Niacin
- Potassium
- Manganese
- Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)
- Vitamin B3 (Niacin)
Although it’s true that it doesn’t have super high amounts of these nutrients, it does contain them so if you drink three or four cups a day, those small amounts will certainly add up. It’s always better to consume something that has some nutrients, no matter how small, than something that contains nothing nutritional for your body, such as soda.
SEE ALSO: Top Ways to Make Your Coffee or Tea Habit Healthier
10. Helps You Live Longer
Oh, this is another good reason! Studies show that coffee drinkers are much less likely to get chronic diseases (possibly due to the antioxidants in coffee) so this means you could live longer. This is backed up by science. Two studies, one done over a period of 18 years, the second over a period of 24 years, showed that those who drank coffee had as much as a 26 percent lower risk of death for women and a 20 percent lower risk of death for men. In fact, this appears to be especially true for those suffering from diabetes. One study showed that diabetics who consumed coffee daily had a 30 percent lower risk of death during the study period of 20 years. So if you want to live a longer, disease free life, coffee is your new best friend!
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11. Lowers the Risk of Diabetes
Speaking of diabetes, this disease is a huge problem around the world, with about 300 million people being affected. For reasons that scientists don’t fully understand, those who drink coffee have a significantly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Studies show that people who really enjoy coffee and drink three or more cups each day have as much as a 50 percent lower risk of developing diabetes. One study showed this risk was reduced by 67 percent! A review of more than 18 studies that included almost a half a million subjects showed that every cup of coffee reduced a person’s risk of developing diabetes by 7 to 10 percent.
12. Reduces the Risk of Stroke
Although some people claim that caffeine can increase blood pressure and therefore lead to a stroke, this isn’t entirely true. Caffeine does raise blood pressure, but not significantly (usually no more than 3 or 4 points) and the rise is temporary. Once your body becomes accustomed to this regular caffeine intake, your blood pressure is no longer increased. There are no studies that show that drinking coffee increases your risk of a stroke, but there are some studies which show that coffee drinkers have a 20 percent lower risk of stroke. So feel confident about having that second cup!
13. Helps Protect Your Brain
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common neurodegenerative disease in the world, not to mention the most common form of dementia. Although this disease generally affects those over the age of 65, there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s. There are plenty of protective measures you can take, however, and one of them is in your coffee cup. Several studies have shown that drinking coffee can be incredibly effective in preventing Alzheimer’s disease. Coffee drinkers lower their risk of developing this disease by as much as 65 percent!
14. Protects You from Cancer
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death worldwide and coffee appears to protect the body from two types in particular; liver cancer and colorectal cancer. Worldwide, liver cancer is the third leading cause of death with colorectal cancer close behind in 4th place. One study that involved almost a half million subjects found that those who drank 4 to 5 cups of coffee daily had a 15 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer. Another study showed that coffee drinkers had a 40 percent lower risk of liver cancer. This is a whole lot of cancer protection just for drinking something that tastes so good!
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15. Protects You from Parkinson’s
Right behind Alzheimer’s disease, the second most common disease of the brain is Parkinson’s disease. This is caused by the death of dopamine generating neurons in the brain. There is no cure, which makes prevention super important. Studies show that coffee drinkers have a much lower risk of developing this terrible disease. In this case, it appears to be the caffeine that offers protection as those who drank decaf did not have a lower risk. Coffee drinkers have as much as a 60 percent lower risk of developing Parkinson’s disease.
16. Naturally Fights Depression
Depression is unbelievably common, striking people of all ages, all races, and all walks of life. Some people estimate that as much as 5 percent of the people in the US are clinically depressed. One study out of Harvard University, which was published in 2011, showed that women who drank 4 or more cups of coffee each day had a 20 percent lower risk of becoming depressed. Scientists attribute this to the antioxidants in coffee since sodas also contain caffeine but are actually linked to higher levels of depression.
17. Protects Your Liver
We already talked about how coffee can protect you from cancer of the liver, but it also appears to protect you from other liver problems, including fatty liver, hepatitis, and therefore, will prevent damage to the liver which causes scarring, also called cirrhosis. Studies show that those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee each day had a lowered risk of developing liver disease by as much as an unbelievable 80 percent! One study published in 2006 that involved more than 120,000 subjects over a 22 year period, showed that those who drank just one cup of coffee had a 20 percent reduction in the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver.
Remember that when studies use a “cup” of coffee, they are using an 8 ounce measurement. Most people use coffee cups that hold 12 to 16 ounces. So if you think that you are “only” consuming 2 cups of coffee each day, if your cup holds 16 ounces, then you are actually drinking 4 cups, according to these studies, which means you don’t have to drink as much as you think you do in order to get all the health benefits listed here.
To get the most from your cup of Joe, always buy organic coffee and brew it fresh yourself. This ensures that you will be getting the most antioxidants possible and with the least contamination from pesticide residue.
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