10 scientifically proven benefits of coffee
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
Most people in the world enjoy a cup of coffee, no matter what time or how it is served: sweet, bitter, hot, or cold. Even better, coffee provides many benefits. Find 10 of those benefits. First of all, make some good coffee. Sit down and start reading because the love is in the air!
Coffee belongs to the botanical family Rubiaceae. There are more than 500 types and thousands of species.
Coffea arabica (Arabica coffee) turns out to be the most produced species in the world. Its quality has to do with the way it is roasted. Another great deal of coffee that makes a difference is the compounds the bean contains, such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and so on.
Caffeine is one of the most popular psychoactive substances in the world of drinks.
That is why caffeine is the most traded commodity, i.e. more than tea and cola sodas. If consumed in moderation, caffeine is a beneficial stimulant for physical and mental health.
The world's most expensive coffee is coffee from civets
Kopi Luwak coffee is produced in Indonesia and is made from the feces of a marsupial called civet. The animal swallows coffee beans and releases them in its defecation. A kilo of civet coffee costs about US$2,880. On the other hand, the cruelty-free movement does not approve of the treatment of animals used for this purpose.
Top 10 coffee-producing countries in the world
According to the Cooperative of Coffee Growers and Farmers (Cocapec), from Franca, São Paulo, Brazil, the 10 countries that are known as having the top highest rates of coffee production are:
-
Brazil
-
Vietnam
-
Colombia
-
Indonesia
-
Ethiopia
-
India
-
Honduras
-
Mexico
-
Uganda
-
Guatemala
10 Scientifically Proven Benefits of Coffee:
1 - Heart problems
A research which was conducted with 140,000 people at Harvard Public Health School, revealed that 4 doses/day of coffee reduces the risks of heart failure.
2 - Weight loss
A study published in the journals, International Journal of Sports Nutrition and Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science, revealed that caffeine increases the level of adrenaline in the blood, helping to burn fat.
3 - Respiratory problems
According to the Brazilian Association of the Coffee Industry, caffeine has a bronchodilator effect, reducing the fatigue of the respiratory muscles. Moderate coffee drinkers reduce the chance of having asthma by 30% compared to non-consumers.
4 - Cancer
The Instituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri, Italy, released a study showing that coffee consumption reduces the incidence of liver cancer by up to 41%, compared to those who do not consume the beverage.
5 - Memory
Caffeine boosts memory up to 24 hours after consumption. This was the conclusion of a study conducted by Johns Hopkins University, and published in the journal Neuroscience.
6 - Kidney stones
Kidney stone is a solid mass formation in the kidneys and urinary ducts. The Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Italy conducted a research involving more than 200,000 volunteers. Coffee drinkers reduced the risk of having kidney stones by 31% when compared to non-drinkers.
7 - Depression
Caffeine improves the consumer's mood, reducing the chances of depression. In this study, conducted by the Harvard Public Health School, it was detected that women who drink 2 to 3 cups of coffee/day decreased the risk of depression by 15%.
8 - Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease
A study published in the Journal of Neuroinflammation showed that caffeine protects the central nervous system from chemicals that affect brain function.
9 - Stroke
Regular coffee consumption reduces the chances of having a stroke, due to its antioxidant effect. The conclusion was revealed in a study developed by the Nurses Health Study.
10 - Brain
Besides preventing the diseases above mentioned, caffeine helps trigger substances such as adenosine, increasing the production of dopamine, an important brain mediator, responsible for stimuli such as pleasure.
After water, coffee is the most consumed beverage in the world, surpassing tea, soft drinks, and juices!
