Besides tasting great, coffee will do many great things for your health, if you drink it in moderation. Scientists have proved that coffee has numerous positive effects on your health. Here are four good arguments for drinking coffee.
1. Coffee decreases the risk of Parkinson’s disease
The risk of developing Parkinson’s is decreased if you drink coffee. An American study concludes that coffee consumption could cut the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease in half. According to a study, the risk is decreased if you drink between one and three cups of coffee a day.
Previously, it was also believed that coffee could minimise or as far as eliminate the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, and thereby allow patients to better control their movements. However, this notion was disproved in a largescale experiment performed at McGill University Health Center in Montreal in 2017.
2. Heart failure occurs less frequent in coffee drinkers
A moderate intake of coffee protects you from heart diseases. Note the ‘moderate’, because if you drink five cups a day, there is no effect, and if you drink more than five cups a day, the risk of developing heart diseases is increased. On the other hand, four cups a day will decrease the risk of heart failure. According to scientists this could be because coffee has a positive effect on the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure – which are two causes of heart failure.
3. Coffee appears to protect against liver cancer
Contrary to alcohol, coffee has a positive effect on liver. Research indicates that drinking coffee decreases the risk of developing liver cancer. Scientists from the Italian institute Istituto di Ricerche Farmacologiche in Milan have analysed data from 3153 individuals and have discovered that coffee drinkers have a 40 % lower risk of developing liver cancer. The experiment also showed that if you drink three cups a day, the risk is decreased by as much as 50 %.
However, the scientists have not yet been able to prove that the decreased risk is due to coffee. There remains a possibility that it is simply because patients with liver cancer drink less coffee than others.
4. You burn fat quicker if you drink coffee
Caffeine helps your body burn fat more quickly. It has been proved that drinking coffee causes your metabolism to function at an increased rate of between three and eleven percent. Therefore, you burn fat more quickly when you drink coffee. However, it depends on your weight; if you are obese, you burn fat 10 % quicker, and if you are within the limits of a normal weight, you burn fat 29 % faster. Although, scientists believe that there is a possibility that if you drink coffee daily, the effect on your metabolism disappears.
In general, a moderate intake of coffee is healthy for you
It is alright to drink between three and four cups of coffee a day if you want to stay healthy. This was determined by a largescale study in 2017, performed by scientists from the University of Southampton. The scientists compared results from 201 prior studies and reached the conclusion that people, who drink three to four cups of coffee daily, were, in general, healthier and at a lower risk of developing a range of diseases, compared to non-coffee drinkers.
The study, however, does not prove the connection between coffee and the benefits to the health; in other words, it could simply be that healthy people drink more coffee. Even with this reservation, the study is good news to coffee drinkers, as it determines that a moderate intake of coffee is not detrimental to your health, says Robin Poole, who is one of the scientists behind the study.
Be careful, if you are pregnant
However, a study has linked coffee to a few health issues:
- Female coffee drinkers are at a higher risk of bone fractures
- Pregnant women, whom drink large quantities of coffee, are more likely to miscarry.
Therefore, you should be aware of the danger your coffee intake if you are pregnant.
