Truth and speculation about coffee
People have mixed attitudes towards coffee. For some, it is a favorite drink that energizes the whole day. Others consider it to be the cause of chronic insomnia. Still others blame coffee for their hypertension. Where is truth and where is fiction?
The truth, as always, lies in the middle. The main active ingredient in coffee is caffeine. Its beneficial effect on the body has been noticed for a long time. One of the main advantages of caffeine is that it stimulates the central nervous system, activates the brain, which tones the body, “injecting” life-giving force into it.
According to experts, caffeine can protect the body from certain types of cancer cells, in particular, it protects women from breast cancer (this is especially important during menopause). In addition, drinking coffee is the prevention of senile dementia, and also has a beneficial effect on Parkinson’s disease.
By the way, those who refuse to drink coffee for fear of acquiring hypertension are deeply mistaken. It has been conclusively proven that coffee is not a high pressure provocateur.
Many coffee lovers prefer ground coffee, believing that it is the most correct and healthy, especially brewed in a Turk. But this is only partly true. Contrary to popular belief, it turned out that the caffeine in instant coffee is only slightly less than in ground coffee.
But ground coffee contains a substance called cofestol, which increases the level of cholesterol in the blood, which means that it increases the risk of developing atherosclerosis. Therefore, ground coffee brewed in a Turk must be filtered through a paper filter so that the coffee grounds do not fall into the cup. In this regard, coffee brewed in a coffee machine is much more harmless, since the sediment is filtered automatically through a strainer.
As for instant coffee, it has its own disadvantage, acquired during the production process. A cup of instant coffee, drunk after a meal, slows down the absorption of iron three times, so it should not be consumed immediately after a hearty meal, especially after meat dishes. As you know, meat and liver are the main suppliers of iron to the body, the quantity of which determines the quality of blood. But if you drink coffee half an hour before a meal or half an hour after a meal, it will bring not only pleasure, but also maximum benefit.
Popular trio – coffee, sugar, milk
This combination is quite acceptable if you yourself add a little sugar to the coffee and pour in natural milk. It’s another matter if it’s a drink from a three-in-one bag. This mixture contains a large amount of sugar and hydrogenated fat, which does not affect the body in the best way. And the calorie content of this small bag is quite impressive – 70-100 kcal, while a cup of brewed coffee has a maximum of 12 kcal. In addition, excessive sugar combined with hydrogenated fat increases the risk of atherosclerosis.
Coffee has many benefits, but this does not mean that you can drink it from morning to evening. Coffee, of course, is not a medicine, but you still need to adhere to the approximate norm. And this is 3-4 cups (not liter mugs!) Per day. If you drink it in large doses, then you can achieve the opposite effect and harm yourself, depleting the body with constant urging.