The world divides into two kinds of people: those who drink coffee, and those who don’t. Congratulations if you’re among the first. There are more benefits than disadvantages to drinking coffee, so your risk of developing certain health conditions is lower compared to people who don’t drink coffee.
If you reasonably consume coffee within a limit of 4 to 6 cups maximum, then you’re not only receiving healthy doses of energy boosts throughout the day, but you are also protecting yourself against strokes, type 2 diabetes, cirrhosis of the liver and other diseases too.
Let’s see what else is good about coffee by looking into its nutrient content. Didn’t think coffee offers nutritional value? But it does and is not at all negligible.
- Coffee contains magnesium and potassium, both of which can help you lose weight. What these two nutrients do is they regulate blood sugar levels, which means you’ll be craving less of those unhealthy snacks throughout the day. Coffee provides 7.1 milligrams magnesium, which represents 2% of the daily value and 116 milligrams potassium, which is 3% of the daily value per 1 cup serving.
- Coffee contains folate and choline, both part of the B vitamin complex family. When these two nutrients are found together inside the body, they work to ensure proper functions of the liver, of the brain, and of the nervous system. Coffee provides 4.7 micrograms folate, representing 1% of the daily value and 6.2 micrograms choline.
- Coffee contains caffeine, which provides several health benefits. It improves physical performance when consumed an hour before working out. It can help with burning fat more easily. It helps with maintaining focus while improving mental alertness. It decreases insulin sensitivity, therefore reducing the risk of type 2 diabetes. And caffeine can also reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.
Considering all these benefits, it’s a wonder there are still many people who don’t drink coffee or drink very little. But there seems to be a scientific explanation for this, extending beyond personal taste and preference.
According to science, the reason someone may not like coffee is in the genes, more specifically some people carry a gene that makes their body break down the caffeine in coffee differently.
For the rest of the world, however, coffee in the morning is what makes the world go round. In America, people consume coffee every day, more than 450 million cups of coffee, but the countries that are literally running on the beverage are in Europe.
Top 10 biggest coffee drinkers in the world are Finland, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Canada, all of which experience a shortage of good weather that may well explain their devotion to this hot beverage.
If it wasn’t for water, coffee would be the most consumed beverage in the world. Two of the most common varieties are coffee Arabica and coffee Robusta, the first representing 59 percent of all the coffee production in the world.
People who prefer less caffeine with their coffee choose Arabica over Robusta, the latter containing 2.7 percent caffeine, while Arabica has only 1.5 percent. Arabica is considered more pleasant to taste due to the lower caffeine content. Caffeine is known to make coffee more bitter.