The Health Benifts Of Drinking Coffee Daily
America’s obsession with coffee is perhaps best illustrated by the number of Starbuck’s that populate our urban landscapes. In 2012 the number of these fast coffee storefronts numbered 10,924—a number that is sure to be even larger in 2015. The good news; coffee is good for your health.
Coffee is a rich source of antioxidants, and for many Americans, it remains the only reliable daily source for these essential vitamins. Something about the chemical make-up of coffee actually makes antioxidant absorption by the human body much easier than from other sources like fruit and vegetables. This means that by drinking a daily cup of coffee, the immune system gets a boost along with the brain.
A study looking at rats who were in a stressed out state due to sleep deprivation, found that the smell of coffee alone was able to trigger a release of proteins in their brains that changed the stress. The conclusion could be made that by smelling coffee, stressful feelings are elevated and transformed into other more positive feelings like excitement.
Further research on the effects of coffee looked at patients with brain the disease known as Parkinson’s. Parkinson’s disease cause tremors in the body, which can become so severe that all normal movement is compromised. The study found that people who consume caffeine regularly are less susceptible to developing Parkinson’s disease. Furthermore, doses of caffeine were found to help regulate the erratic movements associated with Parkinson’s disease.
Beyond the brain, coffee also has an effect on an another major organ of the body, namely the liver. Researchers observed that for people older than 22 years of age, daily coffee consumption protected the liver from developing cirrhosis, a liver disease that can result from drinking too much alcohol. Cirrhosis is an autoimmune disease that can eventually lead to total liver failure and even cancer. For some reason coffee consumption benefits the liver and makes it more resilient to the damages done by alcohol. The more coffee an alcoholic consumes, the less likely they are to be hospitalized for liver failure.
Moods are also affected by coffee consumption. In fact, those who drink four or more cups of coffee a day were observed to be about 10 percent less likely to be depressed than those who abstained from coffee drinking. Contrary to common logic, the caffeine “buzz” isn’t the reason that coffee elevates mood. For example, the caffeine jolt offered by drinking a Coca-cola has been linked to feelings of depression. Science isn’t sure why coffee is antidepressant but they suspect the effect is linked to its antioxidant properties.
Used under Creative Commons Licensing courtesy of Bex Walton
