Is coffee a health drink, or an addiction we need to break?. But doesn’t it seem like one minute the experts are talking about coffee like it’s a magic elixir, and the next we’re being told to cool it on caffeine? So to get to the bottom of it, we did some research to find out whether it’s time to embrace your morning brew, or ditch the cafetiere altogether…
Why it’s GOOD:
Coffee boosts your brainpower
We’re all familiar with coffee’s ability to make the morning after the night before more manageable, but it’s not only good at making up for lost shut-eye. Coffee actually blocks neurotransmitters in the brain that control sleep, which means it temporarily boosts everything from your reaction time and your attention span to your ability to think logically. Perfect for a pre-meeting pick-me-up.
Coffee helps you train better
Caffeine has been shown to increase the number of fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream, which is a fancy way of saying it helps you run, pedal or lift for longer. Athletes have been privy to this for ages, and have long opted for a performance-boosting caffeine hit prior to competition – one study even suggested as many as two-thirds of Olympic athletes had caffeine in their systems.
Coffee can help you live longer
Scientists in the US studied 400,000 people (aged 50-71) for a whopping eight years and found the women who reported drinking two or three cups of coffee a day were a 13% more likely to live longer than those who didn’t drink.
On top of that, research has also shown a regular caffeine habit can have long term positive effects on the brain – a recent study discovered that participants who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had around a 65% lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia later in life. So every time you have a cup, think of it as a favour to your future self (anyone else thinking about Marty McFly…?).
Coffee helps protect your lady parts
Accord to research, women who drank more than four cups a day lowered their risk of developing cancer of the womb by as much as 25%. Scientists have also made possible links between coffee consumption and a lower risk of breast cancer, not to mention skin, liver and oral cancers.
Coffee can help protect you from diabetes
Frequent and long-term coffee drinking – about four or more cups a day – has also been linked to a nearly 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to non-drinkers. And with millions of diabetes sufferers in the UK, that can only be a good thing.
Why it’s GOOD:
Coffee boosts your brainpower
We’re all familiar with coffee’s ability to make the morning after the night before more manageable, but it’s not only good at making up for lost shut-eye. Coffee actually blocks neurotransmitters in the brain that control sleep, which means it temporarily boosts everything from your reaction time and your attention span to your ability to think logically. Perfect for a pre-meeting pick-me-up.
Coffee helps you train better
Caffeine has been shown to increase the number of fatty acids circulating in the bloodstream, which is a fancy way of saying it helps you run, pedal or lift for longer. Athletes have been privy to this for ages, and have long opted for a performance-boosting caffeine hit prior to competition – one study even suggested as many as two-thirds of Olympic athletes had caffeine in their systems.
Coffee can help you live longer
Scientists in the US studied 400,000 people (aged 50-71) for a whopping eight years and found the women who reported drinking two or three cups of coffee a day were a 13% more likely to live longer than those who didn’t drink.
On top of that, research has also shown a regular caffeine habit can have long term positive effects on the brain – a recent study discovered that participants who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had around a 65% lower chance of developing Alzheimer’s or dementia later in life. So every time you have a cup, think of it as a favour to your future self (anyone else thinking about Marty McFly…?).
Coffee helps protect your lady parts
Accord to research, women who drank more than four cups a day lowered their risk of developing cancer of the womb by as much as 25%. Scientists have also made possible links between coffee consumption and a lower risk of breast cancer, not to mention skin, liver and oral cancers.
Coffee can help protect you from diabetes
Frequent and long-term coffee drinking – about four or more cups a day – has also been linked to a nearly 50% lower risk of type 2 diabetes compared to non-drinkers. And with millions of diabetes sufferers in the UK, that can only be a good thing.
Why it can be BAD:
Coffee can affect your sleep (duh!)
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that drinking coffee can lead to sleepless nights, but according to Dr Pixie Mckenna, giving it up for a few days is all it takes to help set your sleep right.
Coffee can affect your sleep (duh!)
You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to know that drinking coffee can lead to sleepless nights, but according to Dr Pixie Mckenna, giving it up for a few days is all it takes to help set your sleep right.
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