The Benefits Of Coffee

Despite being one of the most popular drinks in the world, coffee can often get quite a lot of bad press. More often than not, this is related to studies on drinking in excess since coffee does actually have a great number of beneficial nutrients and antioxidants.

Lets take a look at the top 5 benefits for guilt-free coffee drinking!

Can improve Energy Levels 

Let's start with an obvious one, coffee enhances energy levels and this is because it contains the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world. Caffeine. (1) 

After you drink coffee, the caffeine is absorbed into your blood stream and gets to work. It begins by blocking the inhibitory neurotransmitter adenosine.

When this happens, the amount of other neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine increases, leading to enhanced firing of neurons - this is what gives you that focus and energy. (2, 3)

However, caffeine does not stop there. Many studies on humans have shown various improvements in brain function. Such as:

• memory and mood
• vigilance
• energy levels
• reaction times
• general mental function

There's a number of studies here if you'd like to read further. (4, 5, 6) 

Can improve physical performance 

Caffeine stimulates your nervous system and increases epinephrine (adrenaline) levels in your blood (7, 8).

This fight-or-flight hormone, prepares your body for intense physical exertion.

Not only does it boost your fight-or-flight levels but caffeine also breaks down body fat (more on this later), making free fatty acids available as fuel. (9, 10)

Given these effects, it’s unsurprising that on average caffeine can improve physical performance by up to 12%. (11, 12)

So if you’re looking for a big boost to your workout session, have a strong coffee 30 mins before.

Can Help You Burn Fat

Leading on from physical performance, coffee also plays a key part in other aspects of fitness and health. There have been many studies to show that coffee can have positive affects on fat burning.

In almost every fat burning supplement you’ll find caffeine and with good reason. Caffeine can boost your metabolic rate by 3% - 11% which aids fat burning. (13).

As well as increasing your metabolic rate, due to its thermogenic properties, other studies have found it can increase fat burning by up to 10%! (14)

Coffee Is Packed with Essential Nutrients

Many of the nutrients in coffee beans make their way into the finished brewed coffee.

A single cup of coffee contains (15):

• Riboflavin (vitamin B2): 11% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI).
• Pantothenic acid (vitamin B5): 6% of the RDI.
• Manganese and potassium: 3% of the RDI.
• Magnesium and niacin (vitamin B3): 2% of the RDI.

Though this may not seem like a big deal, most people enjoy several cups per day which means a lot of these vitamins and minerals will add up and as we all know, every little helps! 

The Most Important Source of Antioxidants in the Western Diet

For most of us eating a standard Western diet, coffee may be one of the healthiest aspects of our diet.

That's because coffee is quite high in antioxidants. Studies show that many people get more anti-oxidants from coffee than from fruits and vegetables combined (16, 17, 18).

In fact, coffee may be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet so drink in moderation and without guilt!