The Good and Bad of Coffee
When to Drink Coffee and What the Pros and Cons Are
I drink a lot of coffee (let’s face it, most of us do), especially early in the morning before I head to work. If you’re like me, then apparently we’re not consuming our coffee correctly. If you’re drinking coffee before about 10 in the morning, that’s too early according to the experts. By keeping our coffee drinking set to about 10 am, we’re running parallel with the human body’s natural circadian clock in which we experience periodic dips in alertness. The first of these happens at about 10 am.
Working in Conjunction with the Circadian Clock
The term circadian derives from the Latin words circa (about) diem (a day). Circadian clocks aren’t always exactly 24 hours, however. If a human being does not experience external cues such as the day-night cycle, which can happen under some low light circumstances for example, they do not run to exactly 24 hours and can average about 24.2 hours per day. Overall, though, we’ll be safe to assume a 24 hour circadian clock.
Applying this to coffee means we should be consuming coffee around 10 am. Later on during the day, if you want a good source of quick energy, try having a cup of coffee before taking a short nap. It will take the coffee about a half hour to affect your body, so when you wake up form the nap, you’ll be alert and ready. These “coffee naps” are taken best around 1 pm, after you start experiencing a drop in energy.
Benefits of Coffee
Coffee reduces your risk of diabetes – In a 2005 review of nine studies, researchers found that for those that drank four to six cups of coffee per day, versus only two or fewer, their risk for Type 2 diabetes decreased by almost 30 percent. The number decreased by 35 percent when people drank more than six cups per day. It doesn’t matter whether you drink caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. If you don’t like black coffee, it’s better to add natural flavors to your cup rather than sugars and unnatural sweeteners.
Coffee boosts your memory – Yes, if you need something that will get the ol’ noodle going, look to coffee. Drinking coffee right after a meeting or learning session can help you retain more of the information.
Coffee helps you exercise – It’s something that most gyms don’t seem to know, but drinking a cup of coffee one hour before you start working out or exercising will help you boost your exercise routine. This is because caffeine turns our fat into fuel and also increases the brain’s endorphin levels, giving you the ability to improve your workout by a good margin.
The Coffee Cons
Coffee increases Osteoporosis – The body excretes calcium in urine, and according to The Diet Channel, about five milligrams of calcium is lost per every six ounces of coffee consumed. However, you can counter this with two tablespoons of milk or yogurt per cup of coffee.
Coffee Increase Hunger – This is bad because it can inevitably cause weight gain if you find yourself hungrier throughout the day. If you’re going to drink coffee, make sure you have some healthy, non-fat breakfast or snacks to go with it.
Watch out for Pesticides! – One of the unfortunate problems with coffee is that it is among the crops that are most heavily sprayed with pesticide. You can side step this with organic coffee instead of regular.
