4 Health Benefits Of Drinking Coffee
A judge tastes coffee during the U.S. Barista Championships at the Coffee Industry Expo at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center April 13, 2013 in Boston, Massachusetts. Fifty of the county's best baristas got 15 minutes to prepare and serve four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature beverages to a panel of judges. The annual event brings in thousands of coffee lovers from around the country. (Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
If I could only have one beverage, besides water (because you sort of need that), for the rest of my life, it would undoubtedly be coffee. I just can’t imagine life without it. It’s comforting, delicious, comes in a variety of flavors, and is actually quite good for you.
Like most people, I want to live a long, healthy life. It turns out my daily coffee habit may help me get there. Many studies have shown that drinking coffee can be beneficial. A JAMA Internal Medicine study from 2018 found that drinking several cups of coffee every day could extend your life. And according to Eating Well, drinking coffee can help in these four specific areas:
- Coffee Can Support Weight Loss – Results from a 2019 meta-analysis published in Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition indicate that caffeine in your diet can help control weight and promote body fat reduction. A healthy weight is key to overall well-being.
- Coffee Can Support Heart Health – According to a Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 2018 study, drinking 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day can cut the risk of heart disease by 15 percent.
- Coffee May Reduce the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes – Drinking coffee can reduce the risk of Type 2 Diabetes, according to a 2021 study in Nutrients. This may be due to coffee’s ability to help burn fat.
- Coffee May Help Fight Cancer – According to data published in BMC Cancer in 2021, drinking coffee can reduce incidence of certain cancers, including endometrial and liver.
Of course, there are no guarantees. You may want to ask your doctor for more information. And coffee can actually trigger certain digestive conditions. See below. However, these studies seem to indicate that drinking coffee does have some real benefits. Just don’t drink a full pot before you go to bed.
These Are The 20 Foods Most Likely To Irritate IBS
Do you suffer from IBS? You aren’t alone. Just on Reddit, there are more than 76,000 members of the IBS community. IBS is a common digestive condition that can cause diarrhea, stomach cramps, and constipation. Certain foods are known to trigger IBS. But which are the worst? Well, food sensitivity specialist YorkTest conducted a study to find out. They took 50 common ingredients regularly tested for food sensitivities and cross-referenced this with data from Reddit’s IBS sub. This allowed them to gain a perspective on the foods that are more irritating to people who have IBS. This top 20 list features the foods most discussed on Reddit (determined by the number of posts).
Caffeine is often something said to trigger IBS symptoms and this study confirms that. You’ll also find lots of meats, some vegetables, fruit, and grains on this list. In fact, there are so many common foods on here, that I’d struggle to plan a week’s worth of food avoiding them. This opened my eyes to the struggles that IBS sufferers face on a daily basis. Do any of these foods that trigger IBS surprise you? Is eating them worth the symptoms? It’s easy to envision a scenario where at a restaurant, party, or meeting you’d have to eat some of these foods.
Phil Harris is 50% of "Phil & Mel in the Afternoon" on K104.7. He has been with the station since 2013 and on the air in Charlotte since 2000. Before coming to the Queen City, Phil worked for radio stations in Pittsburgh, Austin, and Seattle. In addition to the weekly "Throwback Threesome" music video feature, Phil writes about things that matter to Charlotte sports fans and pet owners. He happens to be both.
