A cup of coffee has 5 magical benefits, and doctors give you N reasons to drink coffee

As one of the three most popular beverages in the world, 400 billion cups of coffee are consumed worldwide each year, which means that 14,000 cups of coffee are drunk every second.

However, Chinese people's enthusiasm for coffee has always been low, with the average person drinking only about 5 cups per year. Many people even feel that the word "caffeine" is a formidable enemy.

Is coffee a health killer or a life saver? Today, Kang Kang will take you to find the health magic in a cup of coffee.

5 Crimes of Coffee

Charge 1

Is caffeine harmful to the body?

Many people believe that coffee contains a large amount of caffeine, and drinking too much can easily lead to increased heart rate, sleep disorders, nausea and vomiting, increased blood pressure, etc., and may also cause poisoning.

In fact, the premise for caffeine to cause harm to the human body is "excessive". Coffee contains more than 200 substances, in addition to caffeine, there are many nutrients. It is unfair to equate coffee with caffeine.

Crime 2

Is coffee bad for your heart?

Some people experience palpitations and headaches after drinking coffee, so the saying that "coffee is bad for the heart" has been around for a long time.

However, the opposite is true. After hundreds of years of debate, the medical community has confirmed that drinking coffee in moderation is actually good for cardiovascular health.

A 2014 paper that brought together 36 studies involving 1.28 million people showed that coffee intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease have a U-shaped relationship:

Drinking 1.5 cups of coffee a day can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular disease by 11%; drinking 3.5 cups a day can reduce it by 15%, which is the greatest benefit; drinking 5 cups or more can have no effect.

Charge 3

Is coffee addictive?

British research has found that caffeine is a stimulant to the central nervous system. If you drink coffee regularly, your body may become mildly dependent on it. If you suddenly stop drinking it, you will experience symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, anxiety, and inability to concentrate.

In fact, these symptoms last for a few days and then disappear. They do not pose the risk of addiction like other drugs, nor do they cause harm to physical and mental health.

Crime 4

Does drinking coffee cause calcium loss?

In theory, coffee can increase calcium loss, but the reality is:

Caffeine has only a short-term diuretic effect, and the caffeine in each cup of coffee will only increase calcium loss by 2 to 3 mg. If you drink coffee on a daily basis, you don't have to worry too much about calcium loss.

Moreover, if you drink milky coffee, you don’t have to worry. The calcium obtained from milk is more than enough to make up for the milk loss caused by caffeine and oxalic acid.

Crime 5

Will drinking coffee make your teeth yellow?

This is not wrong. Coffee, tea, red wine and other famous coloring drinks all contain a substance called tannic acid, which is dark brown. If it acts on teeth for a long time, it will penetrate into the inside of the teeth and cause the teeth to turn yellow.

Moreover, ordinary brushing and rinsing are basically useless for this type of yellow teeth. However, don't worry, Kang Kang will teach you two ways:

1. Drink with a straw. This reduces the contact between teeth and coffee, and is suitable for iced coffee;

2. Add milk. Milk contains casein, which can combine with tannic acid, weakening the penetration of tannic acid into the teeth and reducing staining of teeth.

5 benefits of drinking coffee

The coffee mentioned here refers to pure coffee, that is, coffee without any other substances added. It is low in calories and contains a variety of nutrients. Drinking it in moderation has the following 5 benefits to your health:

1. Reduce Cancer Risk

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology found that drinking coffee every day can reduce the risk of primary liver cancer by 40%. Other studies have shown that drinking coffee regularly can reduce the risk of ovarian cancer in women.

2. Protect cardiovascular system

After studying 25,000 subjects, Korean researchers found that people who drink 3 to 5 cups of coffee (about 200 ml per cup) a day have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease.

3. Improve memory

Dr. Jaclyn London, senior nutritionist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, said that moderate caffeine intake is good for both short-term and long-term memory and helps prevent cognitive decline.

4. Prevent diabetes

A study of 126,000 people conducted by Harvard University in the United States showed that people who drink coffee regularly have a lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

5. Helps you live longer

An academic paper published by a professor of pediatrics at Indiana University of Medicine in the United States shows that people who drink coffee regularly have a lower mortality rate than ordinary people.

Chengmai County, Hainan's longevity hometown, is rich in coffee. The average life expectancy is 77.79 years, 6.59 years longer than the national average. The centenarians here all have the habit of drinking pure coffee.

Drinking coffee is the healthiest

1. Choose to drink pure coffee

If you are a regular customer of the coffee shop, it is recommended to choose:

Espresso, Americano: only coffee and water;

Latte, Cappuccino: Only coffee and milk.

Mocha with cream and chocolate syrup, and various vanilla and caramel lattes with flavored syrups have very high sugar content and are only recommended to be drunk as desserts occasionally.

If you make your own coffee, you can choose high-end capsule coffee, artistic hand-brewed coffee, drip coffee, or simple instant black coffee (the ingredients list only has coffee beans). Not used to black coffee? Just add milk yourself.

As for instant three-in-one coffee and canned sweet coffee, they can only be described as sweet coffee-flavored drinks and are a poor choice.

2. Do not exceed 400mg of caffeine per day

Although coffee is good, drinking too much can still cause adverse reactions such as sleep disorders and irregular heartbeat.

The generally accepted healthy upper limit of caffeine intake is 400 mg per day. You can do the math yourself:

A cup of Starbucks latte (large, 473mL) contains about 200mg of caffeine;

A small bag of instant coffee (15g) contains about 50mg of caffeine.

Kang Kang also reminds that it is best not to drink coffee for children and teenagers. Because children's nervous systems are not fully developed and are more sensitive to caffeine, it is best not to drink coffee for children. For teenagers aged 13 to 18, the amount of caffeine consumed per day should not exceed 100 mg.

3. Morning or after lunch is the best time

Coffee at this time can resist the drowsiness after a meal and last for 3 to 4 hours. If you drink it after the afternoon, it may affect your sleep at night.

If you have the habit of taking a lunch break in the office, you might as well try taking a "coffee nap" - after drinking coffee, take a 15-20 minute nap, which will make you feel more energetic and more focused. The reasons are:

A 15-20 minute nap will not lead to deep sleep, so there will be no sleep dependence and it will be easier to wake up;

It takes just 15 to 20 minutes for caffeine to take effect on the cerebral cortex, which is just the right amount of refreshing after waking up.

Have a drink