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When people think about coffee and its benefits, they usually think about its energizing effect. And, while the energy-boosting properties of coffee can be beneficial in many ways, coffee can have a more significant impact on your health than you think.
Scientists have been studying the effects of coffee for years and what they discovered may surprise you. Let’s take a look at a few reasons why coffee is actually good for you and a few ways that you can improve your coffee drinking experience.
Coffee Can Improve Cognitive Function
If you have ever felt mentally sharper after drinking coffee, it’s not only because of the energy. As it turns out, caffeine inhibits the production of a neurotransmitter called adenosine. When this is blocked, it causes neurons to fire at a much higher rate. It also triggers the release of neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine, which both boost mental function.
Coffee Can Help You Reach Your Fitness Goals
Did you know that coffee could help boost your physical performance? Coffee is probably one of the best pre-workout drinks you can have as it can increase both your intensity and endurance. Coffee will also ramp your metabolism way up and increase the number of calories you consume when resting.
Coffee Can Reduce Your Chances of Developing Type 2 Diabetes
Very few people know this, but coffee could actually help reduce your chances of getting type 2 diabetes. Research has found that coffee could reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by as much as 67% in some cases. Another review found that the level of risk for diabetes decreased by 7% with every additional cup that participants drank per day.
This doesn’t mean you should go around chugging 12 cups of coffee every day but know that drinking coffee regularly has a cumulative effect on diabetes risk reduction.
How to Make Better Coffee from Home
Now that you know a bit more about the health benefits of coffee, let’s talk about how you can enjoy coffee shop quality coffee from home. Everything starts with getting the right beans and treating them the right way. The worst thing you could do is buy generic ground coffee from the grocery store. If you want high-quality coffee, your best bet is to go to a reputable roaster in your area and grind the beans yourself.
The reason why it’s so important to maintain the beans’ integrity is because grinding the beans releases some of their flavor compounds. By keeping the bean whole and only grinding it when needed, you get to enjoy more of its flavor.
We would also suggest that you only buy beans in small quantities as storing them will affect their flavor over time. You can choose to steep them using the method of your choice, but it’s generally agreed that the French press produces the best coffee.
Your second option would be to buy high-quality Nespresso capsules or Keurig k-cups. Find the best deals on coffee pods, and pay very special attention to whether the coffee comes from a blend of beans or one specific type of bean. You also have to make sure that they all come from the same
area. You can easily find this out by looking for the “single-origin” mention on the package.
Not only does coffee taste great and help you stay alert, but it also has tons of other benefits you may have not thought of. Learn as much about coffee as you can and try to integrate it into your daily routine.
