Top 4 Health Benefits of Coffee

 It's funny, I 
often hear or read people arguing,
if coffee is healthy or not, is this even still debatable?

  

Coffee contains hundreds of different compounds,
many of which do contain health benefits,
and in this video, we're looking at four of the best.
Coffee is the biggest source of
antioxidants in the Western diet.
When hot water runs
through the coffee grounds,
the compounds in the coffee beans mix with the water,
to become part of the drink.
Caffeine is the most well-known compound, of course,
but there are many that act as antioxidants in the body,
protecting us from oxidation.
Without getting into complicated details,
oxidation is thought to be one of the main mechanisms
behind aging and some common diseases,
like cancer and heart disease.
Coffee, believe it or not, happens to be the biggest
source of antioxidants in the Western diet.
In some studies, outranking both fruits
and vegetables combined.
For people who eat a standard Western diet,
coffee may actually be one of the healthiest
aspects of their eating pattern.
Coffee can improve energy levels and brain function.
After you drink coffee, caffeine is directly absorbed into
the bloodstream, where it makes its way up to your brain.
In the brain, caffeine blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter
called Adenosine, this increases other neurotransmitters
like norepinephrine and dopamine,
leading to enhanced firing of neurons.
The most obvious result is it helps people to feel
less tired, and a surge, or increase, in energy levels.
Many controlled trials and functional energy studies
show this stimulatory effect improves various aspects
of brain function, as well, including memory,
mood, vigilance, and reaction time.
Caffeine can help you train harder.
Caffeine increases epinephrine levels,
also known as adrenaline, in the blood.
This is the fight or flight hormone, designed to make
our bodies ready for intense physical exertion.
It's no surprise that studies consistently show caffeine
can improve physical performance by 11 to 12% on average.
This is actually why, pretty much, all pre-workout
supplements contain a large dose of caffeine.
And instead, you could have a strong cup of coffee,
about 30 minutes before you do any exercise
to have the same effect.
Coffee can help you burn fat.
Did you know caffeine is found in just
about every commercial fat-burning supplement?
The reason is that it's one of the very few
natural substances that has been shown to
improve metabolic rate and fat metabolism.
Several studies show that caffeine can boost
metabolic rate by between 3 to 11%.
Other studies show that caffeine can specifically
increase the burning of fat by as much as 10%
in obese individuals, and 29% in lean people.
The caveat is that the effects on overweight
and obese people seem to be much weaker than on lean people.
Additionally, as an individual's tolerance to caffeine
increases, the effects start to diminish.
In this instance, cycling coffee consumption on and off
would help, but I wouldn't expect any miracles.
The reality is you won't really lose weight
unless you dramatically improve your diet.