Top 7 reasons why coffee is good for your health

Here at Groundwork, we applaud any good reason to drink more coffee. So, we compiled 7 of our top reasons why drinking coffee is great for your health.

Drinking coffee responsibly can be part of a healthy diet, according to the FDA. It states that 400 mg of caffeine per day is safe for healthy adults. That’s about 4 cups of regular coffee since an 8-ounce cup has 80 -100 mg of caffeine on average. In these bounds, here are 7 health benefits you can expect. 

• Increased alertness and decreased drowsiness

A molecule in caffeinated coffee, adenosine, causes a cascade of events in your brain that make you feel more alert no matter the time of day. Beware though, because once you finally metabolize the coffee you drank, you may get a “caffeine crash” as all the adenosine that was fighting off drowsiness is gone. While the caffeine is still in your system, the increased nervous system arousal you feel leads to better and faster processing of information. Finally, the high-energy, anxious state the coffee elicits can spur motivation and productiveness.

• Improved physical performance 

Coffee can give you motivation to move. A study from this year showed that coffee helps increase physical activity – coffee drinkers took 1,000 extra steps a day on average – possibly because coffee drinkers have more energy and motivation to be active. Furthermore, an additional 1,000 steps per day is associated with a 6-15% reduction in mortality! For you competitive coffee drinkers, caffeine can improve physical and athletic performance in activities such as endurance exercise and resistance training. 

• Boosted mood 

Caffeine ​leads to the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that can elevate your mood and motivation. Plus, everyone feels a little happier when they’re not sleepy!

• Healthier metabolism:

Over time, caffeine can improve your metabolism and thus promote a healthy weight​. Coffee also helps with detoxification in the liver. 

• Improved memory

In the long term, coffee can boost memory​ and lower the risk of Alzheimer's disease. 

• Increased longevity and decreased risk of death:

Ultimately, coffee can lower the risk of liver and cardiovascular disease​, stroke​, Parkinson's disease, and Type-2 Diabetes​. Drinking your coffee without added sugar can extend your lifespan even further. 

In one study, people who drink 3 or more cups of coffee per day (including decaf) had a 10% lower risk of death than those who didn’t drink coffee. Coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes and infections. Recent studies have speculated that the abundance of antioxidants and other anti-inflammatory compounds in coffee could contribute to this longevity. 

These health effects are experienced differently by everyone. For example, the beneficial effects of caffeine on some neurological and psychiatric disorders may vary depending on biological sex: caffeine may help reduce the risk of stroke, dementia, and depression in women more than men, while it may reduce the risk of Parkinson’s disease in men more than women.

• More to be discovered: Coffee has many more healthy compounds, such as polyphenols, that play a larger role in human health than we can prove quite yet. 

Coffee subscriptions are a great way to make sure that you are having a healthy amount monthly without overspending on coffee. 

Written by 
Melina Devoney 
Barista, Coffee Captain, Blogger