The Health Benefits of Coffee
My grandmother was a big believer in the power of moderation. She lived to be over 100 years old, and she credited moderation for her longevity – she didn’t avoid things like alcohol, candy, fatty foods, and nicotine. In fact, she smoked at least one cigarette a day right up to the very end, and was known to be a big fan of gin. Moderation, she said, protected you from the ills of the world’s tastiest and most intoxicating pleasures.
I’ve tried to apply the lessons I learned from her to all aspects of my own life. The one thing I can’t seem to control is my own intake of coffee and tea. I love hot beverages, and it’s not unusual for me to drink five or six large mugs of java or tea each day, some days even more. The good news is, moderation may not always be a good thing, especially when it comes to my beverage of choice.
According to an article in the Guardian, coffee is the drink of high achievers, and who among us doesn’t want to achieve more? Whether you’re a student, a 9-to-5 office worker like me, or even a stay-at-home mum or dad, the study talked about in the Guardian story suggests that people who drink coffee tend to get more accomplished in a day than those who don’t.
Take a look at this Huffington Post Lifestyle article that gives five good reasons to drink coffee, all of which are healthy side effects of the consumption of the delicious dark brew. These include diabetes protection, hydration, decreased risk of brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, the antioxidant benefits of coffee, and the fact that people who drink coffee every day tend to have healthier livers. Since a healthy liver means a healthy body (the liver, after all, is the detoxifying organ) it is clear that scientific evidence proves drinking coffee can be a healthy lifestyle choice.
The title of this article, “Tea & coffee: drink to your health,” caught my eye as I was writing this post. It’s yet another example of the health benefits of coffee.
Focusing mostly on the polyphenol content in coffee (and hot tea as well),
the article argues that some world populations have reduced their risk of
cancer, heart disease, stroke, and a variety of other chronic diseases by as
much as 45% simply by sipping their morning cuppa.
Will I ever learn to moderate my intake of coffee? Probably not - I require a
mug of something warm and strong to keep me going all day long. Thankfully, the
more researchers look into the side effects of coffee and tea consumption, the
healthier these substances appear to be.
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