7 Things You Should Know If You Are A Coffee Addict!

We all know that coffee is delicious and helps you tackle even the worst Mondays’, but what else do we know about it? According to prehistoric old wives’ tale that still seem to persuade us, coffee is bad for your heart, can cause various health issues and even stunts your height! But what is the truth?

1.) Is drinking coffee bad for your heart? Coffee contains very large amounts of antioxidants such as caffeic acid, chlorogenic acids, eugenol, gamma-tocopherol, isoeugenol, p-coumaric acid, scopoletin and tannic acid. Antioxidants can help prevent health issues such as cancer and heart disease. Most Americans actually get more of their daily intake of antioxidants from coffee than any other form. But when you start to add simple sugars and dairy, you counteract the health benefits that are provided by the copious antioxidants.

2.) Will drinking coffee raise my cholesterol? It depends. Drinking it brewed with a filter has little to no effects to your cholesterol. But drinking 5-8 cups of french pressed coffee often leaves coffee grounds in your mug which contain oily substances called diterpenes such as cafestol and kahweol which can raise your LDL cholesterol.

3.) Can drinking coffee help you lose weight? Although caffeine can slightly increase your metabolism, the change is not significant enough to actually cause any significant weight loss although it can reduce your desire to eat for short periods of time.

4.) Will drinking too much dehydrate me? Nope. Even though it is a VERY slight diuretic, the water in it counteracts that. But if you add sugary ingredients like caramel and whipped cream or chocolate, you are definitely susceptible to an increase of water loss.

5.) Can it get rid of a headache? Yes! In fact most migraine medications contain caffeine. Click here to learn about more foods that can help reduce pain naturally.

6.) Will drinking caffeine in the afternoon mess up my sleep schedule? Nope! 3/4ths of your cup is processed out of your body within 4-7 hours.

7.) Will java stunt my height? No! Although it is a very popular myth, there is absolutely no evidence to back up this tale.

So over all, coffee is not the black sheep of the beverage family like we might have assumed. In fact, it has quite a bit of health BENEFITS! So next time you reach for that second cup of joe, you can feel relieved.