When you're thirsty, water is the perfect solution to meet your needs, but if you're looking for a drink to enjoy to start your day or when you're taking a break at work, it doesn't quite give you the pleasure you're looking for.
There's no real substitute for water - and you know your body needs a good dose of it daily - but luckily, there are other healthy beverages you can turn to. Leading the way are coffee and tea, which should be good news for most of you, as these drinks are among the most consumed in the world.
Coffee has a bad reputation for health, because 97 percent of it is sprayed with pesticides and most is contaminated with mycotoxins. Poor roasting is also a problem, as it can bring toxins such as acrylamide. However, coffee that is grown, harvested and roasted in good conditions can be very beneficial to your health.
Drinking up to 5 cups of coffee a day is good for you!
In the 2015 edition of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Scientific Report of the 2015 dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, 2015), a government advisory committee for the first time said that Americans could safely consume up to five cups of coffee per day, or about 400 milligrams of caffeine, without harm.
This claim is based on several meta-analyses and studies evaluating the link between coffee and chronic diseases such as cancer, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease. Coffee has long had a bad reputation because of its caffeine content, but it also contains beneficial antioxidants, including significant amounts of hydrocinnamic acid and polyphenols. Coffee is the number one source of antioxidants in the American diet, with research even mentioning that nothing equals it, or even comes close! Antioxidants can even help neutralize the more severe effects of caffeine that coffee naturally contains.
Coffee can be good for your heart
It has long been understood that coffee increases blood pressure, at least temporarily, but long-term studies have not found a link; rather, there is now a tendency to think that coffee drinkers may develop tolerance to its hypertensive effects.
On the other hand, research suggests that coffee can be very good for your heart health. A meta-analysis, combining the results of 11 studies, found that nearly 480000 people consuming two to six cups of coffee per day had a lower risk of stroke :
"Phenolic compounds in coffee possess antioxidant properties and may inhibit oxidative modification of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), thereby reducing the atherosclerotic process.
Moderate coffee consumption (1 to 3 cups per day in the United States or 3 to 4 cups per day in Europe) was associated with a significantly lower risk of coronary heart disease in women. Numerous studies also indicate that coffee consumption decreases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, which promotes cardiovascular disease."
In addition, it was shown in a study of more than 25,000 people that those who consumed moderate amounts of coffee - that is, three to five cups per day - were less likely to have calcium deposits in the coronary arteries than those who drank larger daily amounts or, conversely, not at all.
Much of the arterial plaque is made up of calcium deposits (atherosclerosis), hence the term "hardening of the arteries". This is a significant risk factor for heart disease.
One study found that moderate consumption of coffee reduces your chances of being hospitalized for heart rhythm problems. Other research has found that moderate coffee consumption increases blood flow in your small blood vessels by 30 percent, which takes the pressure off your heart.
Coffee is good for brain health
Coffee is known for its ability to make you more alert and focused, and increase cognitive performance, at least temporarily. It also has some impressive brain health benefits.
Chlorogenic acid (CGA) in coffee, for example, protects neurons from glutamate neurotoxicity and thus may reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases such as ischemic stroke.
Drinking three to five cups of coffee a day, starting in your 50s, lowers the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease by about 65 percent!
The caffeine also promotes the production of neurotransmitters-serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine-and triggers the release of brain-derived neurotrophic factor-Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, better known as BDNF-which is involved in the survival of existing neurons and promotes the growth of new neurons, thereby improving brain health.
People with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who have higher caffeine levels in their blood due to coffee consumption are less likely to progress to dementia.
"Intake of caffeine reduces the risk of dementia, especially for patients already with MCI, the researchers say.