Coffee tastes good and wakes you up in the morning, but it can also reduce your risk of skin cancer by 20 percent. Your morning cup of hot coffee has many health benefits, but it also comes with some warnings. As they say, too much of a good thing can be bad for you! With that in mind, here’s what you need to know about your beloved coffee’s effect on your brain and body.
Drinking Coffee Bulks You Up
Want to build more muscle? Weight-training sessions at the gym should last no longer than 30 minutes per muscle group, otherwise you can lose, instead of build, muscle. But, adding a cup of coffee to your day could help you increase your muscle content.
Caffeine increases your breathing and heart rate, while triggering electrical activity in muscles that enable calcium to be released. Muscles need to release calcium so that they contract, so black coffee without sugar and creamer can help you out during those reps.
However, make sure you drink a lot of water before, during, and after exercise as coffee can have a dehydrating effect on you.
Coffee Prevents Erectile Dysfunction
One in four men who seek help for erectile dysfunction are under the age of 40. Drinking coffee could actually help you to perform at your sexual peak. The key is to drink black coffee,and not a coffee drink loaded with sugar and cream.
In a study published in the Plos One Journal, researchers studied data from 3,700 men containing information about their diet and exercise habits. They found that men who drank between 85 and 170mg of caffeine daily (two or three cups) had a 42 percent lower chance of experiencing erectile dysfunction.
Coffee protects the body against ED because caffeine stimulates many body organs, including the heart. It also relaxes arteries blood vessels so that more blood can flow from the heart to other organs, and in this case to the penis to help men achieve and maintain an erection suitable for sexual intercourse.
The penile helicine arteries expand after coffee consumption, increasing blood flow to the penis.
Can a Cup of Joe Reduce Your Heart Disease Risk
Heart disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States, according to research by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, even more than cancer, and drinking coffee regularly can help to prevent cardiovascular disease.
A Japanese study published in the BMJ peer-reviewed journal, that had 76,000 participants, found that men who drank between one and two cups of coffee every day decreased their risk of dying from heart disease by an impressive 38 percent!
But, Drinking Coffee Does Have Health Dangers
Coffee, as with anything, requires moderation. As you can see from studies mentioned earlier in this article, you should drink small amounts of coffee without sugar or creamer in order to reap the benefits of caffeine.
It’s also worth pointing out that coffee can be harmful to your health in some ways. To understand how, here are two negative things that can happen from drinking coffee.
Can Caffeine Affect Male Fertility
Although it prevents ED, coffee can harm your future fertility. In a study conducted by the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, researchers found that men who drank two or more cups of strong coffee every day reduced their chance of becoming fathers through IVF to one in five. Men who drank less than one cup of coffee had a 52 percent chance of becoming fathers. The researchers think that caffeine damages sperm at the molecular level.
Can Drinking Coffee Raise Your Blood Pressure
Although moderate coffee intake can keep your heart healthy, having too much coffee can increase your blood pressure. This puts you at risk of various diseases, including stroke and heart disease.
According to the Mayo Clinic, two to three cups of coffee can increase your systolic and diastolic blood pressure, so make sure you stick to having just one cup.
How To Keep Your Caffeine Intake Healthy
To reap the benefits of coffee, consume it in healthy ways. If you’re taking your coffee with sugar, milk, or cream, this increases your calorie intake, making your cup of coffee less healthy than it should be. You should also try to choose organic coffee that’s free of pesticides while containing a higher amount of antioxidants that kill free radicals, preventing cell damage in the body.
Robusta coffee beans have more antioxidants than Arabica coffee beans, making them a healthier choice. Research by Scranton University in Pennsylvania that was published on the Telegraph found that when researchers measured the antioxidants of over 100 foods, such as fruits, nuts, and vegetables, they found that coffee had the highest antioxidant content. Before you get too excited, bear in mind that fruits and vegetables offer many other nutrients that coffee doesn’t, such as fiber and other vitamins, so they should be a large part of your diet. Still, it’s good to know that your healthy cup of coffee can be enjoyed daily!
Conclusion
Coffee tastes good and gives you energy, but it also has a powerful effect on your body. Some of these effects are positive, while others can potentially be dangerous.
Therefore, it’s important to drink coffee in moderation and choose healthy coffee varieties to reap its rewards while keeping its potential health risks at bay.
Author Bio
Jane Sandwood is a professional freelance writer and editor with over 10 years’ experience working across both print and online. When Jane isn’t writing, she is busy spending time with her family. She also enjoys music, reading and traveling whenever she can.
Ken Weiss is a health blogger who is passionate about natural and holistic cures for men’s health issues. He is the founder of menshealthcures.com
I’ve been a coffee lover since I was in high school and i’ve never stopped drinking it since. I usually consume around 2 to 3 times a day. I was aware of the health benefits as well as the hazards, but apparently, i didn’t know about all. This post of yours is very alarming to me especially that coffee might affect male fertility. Really eye opening.
Great text. I got to say, I’m a really big coffee fan. Also, I didn’t know this information about the negative side of coffee. What I certainly know is that I can’t start my day without a big cup of coffee. Thank you for sharing this information, great pleasure to read blogs like this one! Do you like ice coffee?
I love the taste of coffee besides all and I used to drink around 4 cups a day. I have started drinking decaffeinated coffee. So, my second and fourth cup of coffee are decaffeinated. I think I am making a balance. Other use that I just learned are the coffee enemas. Check it out online to see the benefits and how to do it. It’s easy. Not big deal. Going to the prostate test is worse. Any thoughts about this?
Love coffee, sometimes it is tough to limit the amount. Just have to weigh the over all good vs. the bad.