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If you wake up thinking about your morning cup of coffee, you’re not alone. I recently treated myself to Starbucks and had one of their new Fall dinks, the Iced Maple Pecan Latte. It was so good. So, so good. I seriously cannot stop thinking about it. It’s a good thing the closest Starbucks to our cottage is an hour away and that I am mostly without a car when we are in Illinois because I for sure would have had more than one of these drinks by now! (Update: I’ve had 3. This week. I need to go back to Michigan.)
A recent Food & Wine study shows that Americans are spending on average over $1100 a year on their favorite brew. (I believe it, do you? Years ago I had a $4.89 a day habit Monday-Friday.) Coffee is clearly a big deal to us! And it should be because java is doing more for us than you’d think- according to Tomas DePaulis, PhD scientist at Vanderbilt University, states “overall, the research shows coffee is far more healthful than it is harmful.” There have been over 19,000 studies conducted on the effects of our morning mud, and over 108 million Americans enjoy this caffeine treat.
So wake up and smell the coffee because it’s definitely doing more good than harm! In case you need another reason to keep it flowing, here are FIVE reasons to drink more of your favorite type of joe. You’re going to be surprised by the benefits it’s adding to your life!
Coffee- it’s not just a morning drink!
That’s right- you may think you need a cup as soon as you wake up, but in actuality, it will do you more good 3-4 hours after you wake up. By then the natural effects of just waking up will begin to wear off and you could use a boost. Laura Cipullo, author of Women’s Health Body Clock Diet, suggests that you turn to your favorite coffee drink for your second wind about 4 hours after you wake up.
Boost Your Memory One Cup at a Time
One cup of coffee can provide a surge in brain activity while performing memory tasks. Austrian researchers show that memory and reaction skills are improved when drinking the equivalent of one cup of coffee- something that was not present in the test group that was given a placebo instead. It’s not clear how long the effects last, but if you’re like me and your brain seems to be completely full lately you’ll take what you can get when it comes to memory boosting!
Be Heart Healthy
A Dutch study conducted over the course of 13 years and using more than 40,000 participants shows that people who drank more than 6 cups of caffeinated brew or tea per day decreased their risk of heart disease by a third. That’s pretty significant! Participants drinking 2-4 cups per day also showed a decreased risk of heart disease. Similarly, a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association also found those drinking 2-4 cups of coffee a day reduced their risk of heart disease by 20%.
Coffee is LOADED With Antioxidants
Coffee is a terrific source of antioxidants- even more so than red wine. (I am interpreting that to mean we should go from drinking our favorite cappuccinos all day right to wine in the evening, right? 😉 Antioxidants help curb inflammation and aid in disease prevention.
How so? Well, coffee beans contain quinines (antioxidants) that become more potent when they are roasted. That means drinking java made from roasted beans is a natural source of antioxidants- something we all need! Magnesium is also found in coffee, and that lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes. Win-win!
Make Your Co-Workers More Tolerable
And now for what may be the most immediately useful reason to keep your cup full- workers and workplaces that consume coffee have a more positive view of co-workers than their peers in non-coffee drinking workplaces! So drink up and your annoying coworkers may just be a tad more tolerable.
There you have it- 5 great reasons to keep your favorite barista busy!
If you’re looking for more lifestyle tips, check out our Self Care 101 board on Pinterest. There are hundreds of ideas from tons of great bloggers!
Looking for ways to take a deep breath and relax? These posts may help!
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