Go Ahead, Have a cup of Joe!

Coffee! Is it really good for you? Actually, there are good effects and some bad effects from drinking coffee. If you drink coffee in moderation, it is safe to drink three to four cups a day. Coffee is a drink processed from the roasted beans of the coffea arabica bush.

Coffee will increase mental alertness, and will relieve both mental and physical fatigue because it contains caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, the heart, and muscles. Coffee also contains antioxidants that are good for you. Coffee is credited with lowering the risk of oral cancers, as well as colon, liver, and prostate cancers. According to WebMD, it is used to “prevent Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer disease, dementia, and cognitive disease.” However, it can raise your blood pressure because it restricts the widening of your blood vessels. Coffee is highly acidic, so it will affect your stomach if you have acid reflux.

Therefore, coffee is not all bad or all good. While it can have benefits in healthy individuals, it can create insomnia in some individuals, increase anxiety, interact with other medications, and even increase blood sugar in diabetics. A recent study followed 400,000 men and women between the ages of 50 to 71, and those who drank coffee lived longer than those who did not drink coffee at all.

If you are a regular coffee drinker, and decide to stop drinking coffee, you will have withdrawal symptoms from the caffeine. Nevertheless, if you decide to go “caffeine free,” remember that chocolate and sodas also contain caffeine. Therefore, my advice would be to go ahead and have a cup of Joe!

Sources:

https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-980/coffee

https://www.aarp.org/health/healthy-living/info-10-2013/coffee-for-health.html