It’s one of those items that is most likely on everybody’s shopping list, but what does it actually do?
As a coffee user, I haven’t really understood the full depth of what coffee can do. So I decided to look into it to see what I could use it for, and to maybe help others in similar situations.
One of the main things we all know about coffee is that it makes us more awake. The caffeine stimulates the central nervous system making you feel more alert. This is why most people drink it in the morning, myself included. I do like to indulge myself with a cup once in a while as it has its benefits.
These ‘benefits’ being; when drinking coffee, the body releases dopamine in the brain that produces euphoria and happy feelings. So if your miserable in the mornings like me, it might be a good thing to start having a cup.
Another benefit is if you have a coffee shortly before a meal you could possibly decrease the intake of calories, However consuming coffee 3-4.5 hours before the meal will result in no effect on the intake.
Coffee is known by many fitness “gurus” as a source of trimming down fat. This is usually with caffeinated coffee in particular as it might possibly increase the amount of calories/ fat you burn. Yes you will have to exercise for it to work… sorry.
However all of this being said, the research for all of these ‘theories’ was done mainly between 1980 and 2000, therefore more research should be done to provide better evidence to back up what’s already been written.
This leads me on to talk about possible negative side effects that could occur if you consume more than four cups (three to five eight ounce cups) of coffee per day. Having too much coffee could lead too; jitteriness, anxiety, depression, panic attacks, and even heart palpitations. Although some of the health problems associated with ‘too much coffee’ haven’t exactly been proven, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recommended 4 cups of coffee a day as there is no negative evidence against that. Unless you already have a health problem against caffeine but that’s just leading into common sense.
For myself, I have coffee in many form ranging from; hot black coffee to a iced latte. Although sugar mixed with it gives it that better taste, I must say that I have grown to like it without. It makes me feel like a fitness fanatic as I take a sip of my iced coffee latte with a metal straw sitting in the sun.
Anyways I’ll probably return to this topic in the future as there is defiantly more to talk about, but for now that’s the basics.
Bernard.St 