Black Coffee is Best!

Coffee: Black is Best

Every day, millions of people around the globe wake up to the warming scent of their favorite morning beverage, coffee.  As many researchers have reported, coffee is no longer the villain that it is professed to be; it has several healthful benefits.  However, once people start adding things like sugar and cream or milk, and worse yet flavored syrups like chocolate, the benefits that could have been gained from coffee become negated. This is why experts suggest that in order to obtain the maximum health benefits of coffee it is best taken bare of all the add-ons, that is to say, it is best to drink black coffee.

The Goodness of Coffee

In the past, people were greatly discouraged from drinking coffee because it was supposedly bad for the health. Recently, though, a lot of research studies have focused on coffee and its real effect on the human body, and it has been discovered that coffee in itself has many health benefits because it is rich in antioxidants.

The antioxidants in coffee called polyphenols help in warding off or delaying the onset of major diseases such as various types of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, Parkinson’s disease, kidney disorders, diabetes and many more. Antioxidants also help delay the ageing process by assisting in repairing cell damage caused by toxins and free radicals and preventing further damage, thus it has been known to increase life span among coffee drinkers.

Aside from this, some of the other properties of coffee have been known to aid in weight loss, prevent dental caries, promote healthy digestion, improve cognitive functions and enhance performance during workouts and other physical activities. Unknown to many, most headache and pain relieving medicines also contains caffeine because it enhances the effectiveness of these.

Another breakthrough study with regard to coffee is that it helps to ward off depression, particularly among women.

Why Black? Black with no sugar is the best way to drink coffee, so say experts and there are many reasons for this.

First of all, coffee taken alone without all the extras translates to lower calories and zero fat, so that alone should be enough reason to hold back on the sugar and cream.

Second, because black coffee does not have the added burdens of sugar and milk or cream, it is easier for the body to process it and absorb its good nutrients more quickly. The antioxidants in coffee are able to speedily get into the cells to do their job of repairing the body and preventing illnesses.

This quick absorption also allows the body to experience the energizing effect of coffee sooner. This means that within fifteen minutes of drinking coffee, the body will immediately feel more vitalized and headaches and any other pains will also be relieved sooner.

Black Coffee and Weight Loss

Aside from black coffee having less calories and no fat compared to coffee with extras, there are other reasons for why black coffee is a good beverage for those seeking to lose unwanted weight.

Caffeine in coffee helps to increase the rate of metabolism thereby boosting the body’s capacity to burn fat and calories. This is a process called thermogenesis in which the body produces more heat and energy by burning the fat and calories.

In addition to this, coffee also has the capacity to suppress appetite by stimulating the body’s production of a peptide hormone called cholecystokinin or CCK. CCK works by delaying the body’s process of emptying the stomach and also by bringing about feelings of fullness during a meal.

A third theory about black coffee’s role in weight loss is related to its diuretic effect, which is still questioned by most other experts. Proponents say that coffee is a diuretic and so increases the amount of fluids flushed out by the body through urine, thus causing a loss of weight. Critics of this proposition however say that coffee does not really make the body lose too much fluid because the amount of water taken along with coffee only makes up for the amount that is being flushed out in the urine.

Having a Pre-Workout Fix

A more recent popular proposition is to drink a cup of black coffee before a workout in order to enhance weight loss during the physical exertion. Why is this so?

Coffee’s ability to increase the rate of metabolism is enhanced when it is consumed before working out, so the body burns even more calories and loses more weight. Coffee also enhances the body’s fat burning mechanisms during work out making the body burn fat instead of the body’s store of glycogen which could lead to muscle weakness.

Another scientific explanation to coffee’s positive effect on the body during workout is its being a so-called ergogenic acid. What coffee does is that it raises the nitric oxide level in the blood so that more blood flows into the muscles providing more energy and endurance allowing the body to work out harder and for longer periods of time.

Caffeine in black coffee also improves concentration allowing a person to focus more on the physical activity making the person more productive in the workout.

Finally, coffee continues until the end of the workout by minimizing pain and soreness in the muscles. Once again, this allows the body to work out harder and longer.

If you have acidity problems but wish to experience the benefits of coffee in your workout, don’t fret just yet. The advent of low-acid coffee has made it possible for people with acidity problems such as heartburns, acid reflux and GERD to continue drinking coffee despite the discomforts of these health issues. Low-acid coffee like Hevla coffee, does not diminish the effects of regular black coffee but instead delivers the same results with the benefit of not experiencing symptoms of high levels of acidity.

Achieving the Right Brew

A lot of people hesitate to drink black coffee because they say it is too bitter; this is the very reason people add sugar and milk to their coffee – to mask its supposedly bitter taste. But the thing is, coffee that is done properly need not taste so bad. Here are a few tips to improving the taste of your black coffee.

First things first, the type of coffee used and the brewing method are the major factors that contribute to the taste of coffee. To make a good cup of coffee that suits your liking, it is highly suggested that you brew your own cup so you can choose the beans that you will use and prepare it especially to your liking.

Arabica beans are claimed to be the best kinds of coffee beans around, more superior to the other variety which is Robusta. However, within the Arabica variety are even more varieties depending on the country they are grown and the specific locations could also affect the taste of coffee. To know which coffee suits your palate, it is important to have a taste of them first. And this is where the importance of being used to black coffee comes in because you have to drink it black in order to distinguish the different flavors and subtle notes in every type of coffee.

The other important element that goes into a good cup is the means of brewing the coffee. There are various coffee brewing facilities, which, expectedly, you would have at least one at home: drip, espresso machine, stovetop Moka pot, French press and Scandinavian boiling.  Each brewing method requires a different technique, with amount of coffee per serving, specific brewing time and water temperatures that should be learned if you wish to brew your coffee correctly.

We’re not saying that you need to be a coffee connoisseur to achieve a good cup of black coffee, but learning the basics would definitely help in obtaining black coffee that is not too bitter to the taste. Once you have found out the right brew for yourself, there’s no need to learn anything else. All you have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy your good ol’ cup. Plus, of course, reap all the healthful benefits that black coffee has to offer.