Posts Tagged ‘Health Benefits’
The reports we hear and see about the benefits and risks of drinking coffee can be confusing. Some reports say that drinking coffee offers many health benefits. While other reports say that drinking coffee carries health risks. One week the gourmet coffee you love to drink is good for you, and the very next week it is bad for you.
If you are a coffee drinker, you no doubt have asked yourself how much coffee is it safe for you to consume on a daily basis. This is not surprising since so much has been blamed on coffee. Heart disease, cancer, osteoporosis, you name it. At one time or another, coffee has been made to blame. Coffee has joined the ranks of red wine and chocolate as a guilty pleasure that may actually be good for you. As much as it is a great way to get that fix in the morning, recent studies have shown that coffee has been found to be rich in antioxidants and contains hundreds of pain-relieving and anti-bacterial compounds. Although one should not drink coffee with wild abandon, it’s comforting to know that maybe that cup or two in the morning may be good for you. Here is a statistic to ponder: did you know that there are over 160 million coffee drinkers in the Unites States alone? In terms of consumption, the average American consumes 8.8 lbs. of coffee per year. But consider this: the world leader in terms of consumption is Finland which comes in at nearly 30 lbs per year. That’s a lot of coffee!
Coffee has gotten a bad reputation over the years. Between the negative attentions that it has garnered due to its caffeine content and a few misreported findings that hinted at health problems caused by drinking coffee, many people believe that coffee is not good for you.
The perception is that coffee is great for a pick-me-up but it can cause health problems down the road. Actually, not only is this generally untrue but drinking coffee has several health-related benefits. With the surge in popularity of gourmet coffees, it has been discovered that some of these gourmet roasts can actually have an even greater health benefit than standard coffee roasts.
For many people, the day doesn’t officially start until that first pot is brewing. Coffee has become a mainstay of their morning routine. Coffee provides the caffeine that some people need to wake up in the morning or to get that extra boost as the day goes on, and research has shown that the antioxidants in coffee may have a variety of health benefits as well. That said, not all cups of coffee are created equal; choosing the right coffee maker can make all the difference between an outstanding cup and one that’s just alright.
It is a pity that coffee does not get the credit and the attention it deserves. Coffee tends to get bad press and focus on negative effects of caffeine and we generally underestimate the importance of coffee in our life. Coffee is seen just as a drink, but it actually provides countless health benefits. Coffee may not be in the prescription by a physician. But nevertheless it plays a significant role in ensuring a healthy life for us.
