Coffee

Coffee, one of the most common beverages all across the world. This bitter and earthy drink be consumed straight up or complemented by creams and sugars. Served hot and cold and can be found in nearly every restaurant and store you will ever attend. Oftentimes accompanied by flavors such as vanilla, caramel, hazelnut, chocolate, and the famous seasonal pumpkin spice.  On average, 65 percent of Americans drink coffee every single day. It is known that coffee can be addictive and is often compared to drugs such as cocaine and heroin, but with a milder effect. This is due to the extremely high amounts of caffeine that coffee has in it. On average, Americans drink around three cups of coffee per day. Making that 21 cups per week, and 90 cups per month! So, with all of this coffee intake, what are the positive and negative effects?

Positives

Though many people are skeptical of coffee and avoid it at all costs, there are some positive effects of drinking this beverage, in moderation. Coffee is notorious for giving people energy and putting them in a good mood, but there are several other benefits to consuming it.  According to hopkinsmedicine drinking coffee often can help to prevent illnesses such as coronary heart disease, strokes, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, and kidney diseases. Those are all things that can be prevented just by drinking two cups per day. With strokes being the fourth most common cause of death in women, and two thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s disease are women, it appears as though women would benefit most from drinking coffee regularly. Coffee is also proven to help strengthen your DNA. This is because coffee prevents breakage in the DNA strands. In addition to all of these health benefits, there have been some studies that claim coffee may aid weight loss. This is because coffee can boost your metabolism, causing an individual to burn more calories, thus leading to weight loss.

Negatives

Though regular coffee consumption has many benefits, as previously listed, there are also numerous factors of coffee that can be detrimental to your health and wellbeing. According to healthwellness increased blood pressure, increased acid production, digestive issues, and heartburn are all side effects that coffee is common in causing. In addition, coffee can lead to jitteriness, anxiety, restlessness, hyperactivity, drowsiness, and irritability which can negatively affect work performance and productivity. This is why oftentimes parents do not allow their children to consume drinks such as coffee, soda, tea, and energy drinks.

Conclusion

So yes, coffee has tons of good aspects and tons of bad aspects, but so do many things. So, should you cut coffee out completely? Not necessarily. It is important to remember, “Too much of anything is not good.” It is important to drink coffee in moderation, just as you would with fast food or sodas. Many people would benefit from drinking less of this beverage, yet others may benefit from drinking more of it. It all depends on your personal health concerns.