We don’t need to say it, but we will anyway: we love coffee. There’s no finer way to start your day. But did you know that it’s more than just for the caffeine kick? Coffee doesn’t just put a spring in our step. It has some real health benefits too!
The Health Benefits
There have been a lot of studies that have shown positive effects for coffee drinkers. The University of Cambridge have recently concluded one of the largest studies every conducted into coffee drinking, which shows that “just one 350ml cup of the black stuff a day cuts the risk of dying early by 12 per cent”, and it’s up to 18 per cent if you drink three cups a day.
More than adding nine minutes of extra life per cup (on average), a separate study has also shown that regular coffee drinkers have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes – by between 23 and 50 per cent! So that’s nine minutes of life and a 4-8 per cent decrease in likelihood of type 2 diabetes per cup.
But that’s not all! Numerous studies have also shown that coffee can help you burn fat by boosting the metabolic rate. A study from the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that coffee helps boost thermogenesis, the reaction that helps your body burn more calories.
Benefits of the Mind
The caffeine in coffee makes you alert – that’s common knowledge. It’s more than just waking you up though. Caffeine can improve your mood and energy levels, as well as stimulating the parts of the bran that stimulate memory, reaction times and more general functions.
Coffee makes you smarter. As well as this, clinical studies have suggested that coffee can slow the development of Parkinson’s.
With so many studies showing that coffee can sharpen the mind and benefit the body, drink up safe in the knowledge that your morning cup is likely doing you some good as well as tasting great!