The idea that coffee could be somehow good for you seems alien to many. But when you think about it, our negative attitude to coffee doesn’t make much sense. Coffee is a bean, and there is a mountain of evidence to suggest that beans are one of the most healthful foods that people can eat.
Check out some of these reasons why your coffee habit might be good for you, all backed by science.
It Protects Your Liver
It’s not an exaggeration to say that the health of the liver of the average westerner is diabolical. Fatty liver disease – something which used to be the preserve of alcoholics – is now a regular feature of obesity and something that can put a person’s life in danger. When the liver is engorged with fat, it can’t perform its vital functions.
Coffee, however, is helping fight back against fatty diets. Evidence from the Archives of Internal Medicine suggests that coffee may be able to protect the liver by making detox enzymes work more effectively. Coffee, therefore, seems to enhance the liver’s ability to do its job, even when it’s engorged with fat.
It Protects Against Alzheimer’s
Why do so many people want to know how to make brewed coffee? Part of it has to do with a desire to avoid debilitating conditions, like Alzheimer’s. Researchers think that people get Alzheimer’s for similar reasons they get heart disease. Plaques build up in the brain (as they do in arteries), preventing the brain cells from firing how they did when a person was younger, reducing their cognitive capacities. Over time, these plaques disrupt nutrients flows and cause brain cells to enter a senescent state and die. Not good. Coffee, however, contains chemicals which appear to block the plaque-forming process, potentially keeping your brain healthier for longer.
Better Mental Health
The Nurses Health Study was one of the biggest prospective scientific trials in history, following more than 80,000 women for more than a decade. The study was one of the first to provide convincing evidence that coffee consumption reduces feelings and depression. Data presented in the Archives of Internal Medicines shows that the risk of depression fell for women drinking more than four cups of coffee per day decreased by 20 percent.
Better DNA
Can coffee protect your DNA from damage? The answer is yes if you believe new research. Coffee appears to inhibit random DNA linkage breakage, something that can cause cells to churn out the wrong proteins and become dysfunctional. People who drink coffee had healthier DNA in their white blood cells according to a European study.
Coffee Cuts The Risk Of Gout
Gout used to be a disease of kings, characterized by an unhealthy buildup of painful uric acid in the joints. But thanks to modern diets, just about everyone is at risk. The risk of gout appears to fall, however, with increasing coffee consumption. The more you consume, the lower your risk.
So there you have it: coffee has a lot of benefits. Will you start drinking more of the stuff?
