Black coffee: Good or bad for you?

Brewing a perfect cup of black coffee is an art. Although drinking it without sugar, milk or cream can be an acquired taste; it allows the brewer to focus on the full-bodied flavor of freshly roasted coffee beans. 

Ever wondered how controversial the health benefits of black coffee are? Let’s evaluate based on the good and bad of this aromatic beverage.

ADVANTAGES OF BLACK COFFEE

1. Can Improve Energy Levels and Make You Smarter

Caffeine in Coffee can help people feel less tired and increase energy levels. It is absorbed into your bloodstream resulting in improved energy levels. Many controlled studies in humans show that coffee improves various aspects of brain function including memory, mood, vigilance, reaction times and general mental function.

2. Can Help You Burn Fat and increase metabolism

Want to lose weight? Black Coffee is one of the few natural substances proven to aid fat burning. Several studies show that caffeine can boost your metabolic rate  by 3–11%. Other studies indicate that caffeine can specifically increase fat burning by as much as 10% in obese individuals and 29% in lean people. However, it’s possible that these effects diminish in long-term coffee drinkers.

3. Can Drastically Improve Physical Performance

Caffeine stimulates your nervous system, signaling fat cells to break down body fat. But it also increases adrenaline levels in your blood, which prepares your body for intense physical exertion. Caffeine breaks down body fat, making free fatty acids available as fuel resulting in 11-12% improvement in physical performance.

Grab a cup of coffee half an hour before you head to the gym. It’ll give you that extra energy.

4. Coffee Contains Some Essential Nutrients and Is Extremely High in Antioxidants

Did you know?
Coffee is the single largest source of antioxidants. A few important nutrients include: Vitamins B2, B3, and B5, Manganese, Magnesium, and Potassium. Surprisingly, the human body absorbs more nutrients from coffee than it does from other popular sources of antioxidants like fruits and vegetables.

5. May Lower Your Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

Studies show an average of 7% drop in risk for diabetes for every daily cup of Black coffee. Typically a coffee mug is 12 oz. So if you drink, say, two mugs of coffee in the morning, or 24 oz., then you’ll have a 28% lower risk for developing type 2 diabetes, compared to noncoffee drinkers.

6. May Protect You from Alzheimer's disease and Dementia

As coffee enhances memory, it also helps in improving it over the years reducing the risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s. Regular coffee drinkers have actually shown to have a 65% reduced risk of developing the world’s most common neurodegenerative disease.

7. Coffee Drinkers Have a Lower Risk of Liver Diseases

Cancer and Cirrhosis are scary words that affect the liver resulting in deaths worldwide. Coffee drinkers have up to 84% lower risk of developing cirrhosis and up to 40% lower risk of liver cancer, with the strongest effect for those who drink 4 or more cups per day.

8. Protects against gout

Research shows that people who drank more than 4 cups of black coffee have 57 per cent reduced risk of gout as it decreases the level of insulin and uric acid in the body. It also helps to relieve its symptoms for individuals affected with gout.

RISKS OF COFFEE DRINKING

1. Bad coffee can be toxic.

Bad quality coffee can have a lot of impurities in it, which can cause sickness, headache or a general bad feeling. Invest and buy high quality coffee.

2. Coffee can kill you.

Too much of anything can destroy you. 80-100 cups of coffee intake in a short span is lethal and amount in 10-13 grams of caffeine. The body will react by vomiting most of it as 23litres of any liquid is dangerous.

3. Coffee can cause insomnia and restlessness.

Do you prefer coffee during those sleepy and hectic days? If yes, then you must be careful with the amount of caffeine intake. The recommended amount is 400 milligrams, roughly 4cups of coffee. You are probably already aware of what amount and what kind of coffee suits, or doesn't suit you.

4. Avoid drinking coffee more than one cup a day if you’re pregnant.

Drinking coffee during pregnancy? Not a good idea. Studies show that caffeine intake affects the fetus and your baby is highly sensitive. If it’s difficult for you to stop drinking it while pregnant, reduce the intake to one cup a day.

5. High cholesterol? Choose filter Kaapi!

Coffee beans contain Cafestol and Kahweol, two ingredients that appear to raise LDL cholesterol levels so by filtering the coffee it helps trap most of the LDL.

6. Coffee for kids may increase bedwetting.

One survey reported that caffeine consumption of 5-7 year old kids may increase enuresis a.k.a. bedwetting.

7. Caffeine v/s medication

Some medications can give rise to negative reactions to caffeine for instance; asthma medications can react with caffeine, causing nausea and heart palpitations.

SO, IS IT GOOD OR BAD FOR YOU?

As long as you drink reasonable amounts (1-6 cups a day), toxin-free, good quality coffee and brew it with care, you know it's good for you.