Coffee, is a morning ritual for many. Whether you're a latte lover or a shot of espresso is more your style, the topic of, coffee or not is hotly debated. We’ve been doing a deep dive into your hot beverage of choice, to see if we give it the Daily Dose approval or not…
You’ll be thrilled to hear that early research does in fact suggest that when consumed moderately (2-5 cups today) there could actually be more benefits to a cup of coffee than harm caused!
This does however depend on a few demographics. We suggest that the younger members of the family and those that are pregnant maybe give the coffee a miss, and roll up Daily Dose! Much like everything we recommend that you seek professional medical advice before making changes to your diet and lifestyle, just to be on the safe side.
So now that we’ve justified that morning coffee, what are some of the potential benefits…
☕ Both decaf and caffeinated coffee are a source of antioxidants and polyphenols, these are the main source of the benefits reaped by enjoying a cup of coffee! There are also small amounts of certain B vitamins and a few minerals such as manganese and potassium.
☕This is probably the one most of us think of…improves alertness and mental performance!
☕Helps with the morning number 2…yep, all the coffee drinkers out there can confirm this one. Coffee is known to stimulate bowel movements, consequently helping those suffering f constipation.
☕Can lead to hitting in PBs! Consuming caffeine around an hour before a workout can both improve physical endurance as well as perceived excretion.
It's not all sunshine and rainbows though so make sure you’re not replacing all fluids with coffee. Drawbacks include a reduction in sleep quantity and quality, and the potential to trigger anxiety and addiction to name just a few.
References
NutritionData “Coffee, brewed from grounds, prepared with tap water“ https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beverages/3898/2
EFSA (2011) “Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to caffeine and increased fat oxidation leading to a reduction in body fat mass (ID 735, 1484), increased energy expenditure leading to a reduction in body weight (ID 1487), increased alertness (ID 736, 1101, 1187, 1485, 1491, 2063, 2103) and increased attention (ID 736, 1485, 1491, 2375) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006” https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.2903/j.efsa.2011.2054
EFSA (2011) “Scientific Opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to caffeine and increase in physical performance during short-term high-intensity exercise (ID 737, 1486, 1489), increase in endurance performance (ID 737, 1486), increase in endurance capacity (ID 1488) and reduction in the rated perceived exertion/effort during exercise (ID 1488, 1490) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006” https://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/pub/2053
Iriondo-DeHond, et al. (2021) “Effects of Coffee and Its Components on the Gastrointestinal Tract and the Brain–Gut Axis” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7824117/