What’s The Buzz About Coffee?
America’s favorite brew has been shown to have a number of health benefits, including:
- Minimizing the damage to brain cells caused by Alzheimer’s, dementia, and Parkinson’s
- Giving the body a dose of essential nutrients, like vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), manganese, potassium, magnesium and vitamin B3 (niacin)
- Protecting the body against liver disease
- Lowering the risk of developing type II diabetes
- Lowering risk for developing depression and boosting overall happiness
- Reducing your risk of developing certain types of cancer, including liver and colorectal cancer.
- By speeding our metabolism, it helps the body burn fat, lowering our risks for obesity and type II diabetes
- Decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease or death
This low-calorie drink, which has been linked to countless health benefits, certainly does a body good. But there are ways that we can get a better brew. By following the seven tips outlined below, we can take our java from heavenly to healthy:
When It Comes To Beans, Lighter Is Better
In the world of coffee beans, lighter is better. Coffee beans contain compounds called chlorogenic acids, which are converted into antioxidants by the roasting process. However, the longer the roasting process continues, the more likely they are to break down again, costing you their benefits. So when you’re shopping for your bag of beans, opt for a light roast, original blend, or blonde roast.
Pass On The Sugar
Coffee may be a healthy drink, but the fastest way to kill its benefits is to load it down with sugar. While a sugar cube may make your bitter beverage more palatable, it can adds calories, contributes to risk for diseases like Type II diabetes, and can cause sugar rushes and crashes. Artificial sweeteners may seem like a better option, given that they are sugar free and calorie free, but studies show that the chemicals in artificial sweeteners can be quite toxic, and, in some cases, carcinogenic.
If you need a sweet note in your java, opt for Stevia instead.
Go Organic And Fair Trade
As with many foods, there is a range of quality depending on the growing process. Non-organic coffee beans are often doused in pesticides, herbicides, and other chemicals and toxins which have been linked to various health conditions. Whole bean organic coffee will deliver the purest product, so opt for whole bean bags over ground bags.
If you opt for fair trade coffee, you get the added feel-good bonus of knowing that your coffee was sourced using trade standards that ensure that growers will earn a minimum price for their goods, connecting directly with importers and being able to hold on to their land while escaping poverty.
Spice It Up
You can kick up the nutritional value of your coffee by adding a dash of cinnamon or a dose of cocoa. Coffee is a naturally rich source of chromium, which supports healthy blood sugar levels. Cinnamon is another rich source of this essential nutrient, giving your drink a great sugar-regulating boost, and it may even help you avoid cravings for sugary snacks. Because cinnamon has been shown to lower cholesterol and triglycerides in diabetics, it has heart health-boosting benefits as well.
Cocoa is another tasty addition to your coffee that’s full of health benefits. This addition will give you a dose of antioxidants, and it can even reduce your risk for heart disease. Be sure to add unsweetened cocoa to avoid an unnecessary dose of sugars.
Avoid Artificial Creamers
Adding cream to your coffee is a great way to cut the bitterness of the bean brew, because the fat in the cream reduces the bitter taste and adds a richness with a natural sweet tone that will make your drink more robust. However, artificial creamers are full of chemicals, trans fats and unnatural flavorings. They’re often made with hydrogenated vegetable oils, corn syrup, and other sweeteners that pile on the calories and take away from the health benefits of coffee.
Worried about the calories in full-fat cream? Don’t be. Studies have shown that high-fat dairy products are actually linked to reduced risks for obesity, and may actually help you lose weight when consumed in moderation.
Buy Whole Beans
This one is a flavor booster, as well. Coffee beans begin to break down and become rancid once their inners are exposed to oxygen and the moisture in the air. This also affects the stability of the antioxidants that make coffee so healthy. If you notice that after a few days your ground coffee loses its fresh taste, it’s because of the oxidation process that ground coffee undergoes. That’s why it’s recommended that coffee be stored in freezers to maintain freshness.
According to Men’s Health, roasted coffee beans also contain free radicals, which increase as beans are exposed to air. The antioxidants in the beans become spent stabilizing these free radicals, taking away the drink’s nutritional value. To minimize this, you should store your beans in an airtight container and grind them right before brewing.
Stick With Paper Filters, Not French Press
Despite all of the benefits that coffee has, unfiltered coffee contains a substance called cafestol, which according to a researcher at the University of Nevada, Reno, is “the most potent cholesterol-elevating substance we know of in the human diet.” While paper filters do an excellent job removing this compound from the drink, unfiltered, French press drinks are rich in this chemical and may contribute to our risks for developing cardiovascular disease.
So before you grab that morning cup of java, be sure to implement these tips that are sure to make your coffee good to the last drop.