What are the Benefits of Drinking Black Coffee?
Coffee TalkEverything You Need to Know About Drinking Black Coffee
Coffee, the beloved elixir of life, is known for its ability to help us get sh*t done and stay energized and focused while doing it. In fact, over 1 billion people all over the world depend on their daily cup of strong coffee to jumpstart their day. Besides the obvious caffeinated kick it provides, coffee—specifically black coffee—has been linked to a long list of potential health benefits.
[Photo Credit: Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash]
Black Coffee vs. “Regular Coffee”
Whether you’re brewing at home or hitting the local coffee shop, it can be an instinct to add a dash of sugar or a splash of creamer to your mug. These additives may bring a little sweetness to your dark day, but they also rack up a lot of calories.
A cup of black coffee is 2 calories. A “regular coffee” with sugar and milk? That’s 50 calories for one cup—and we know you are drinking more than just one cup a day. Now on to the other c-word—carbohydrates. Coffee with sugar, milk or creamer contains a buttload of carbs. That fancy Frappuccino you just ordered? A whopping 200-500 calories. What the frappe?!
Swapping the sugar for low-calorie sweetener or coffee creamers can help lower the calorie and carb content, but they’re usually full of chemicals you can’t pronounce—and that’s a red flag.
Drinking black coffee is simply the best and healthiest way to drink it.
Who Drinks Black Coffee?
- People trying to get their asses in gear before heading to work.
- Athletes who need a bolt of clean energy before hitting the gym.
- Students pulling an all-nighter to study for their 8 a.m. exam the next day.
- The party people who are currently dealing with an ugly hangover and need to sober up.
- Gamers who don't want to drink the crap that's in energy drinks but want to stay up all night.
- Busy parents who hardly have time to brush their hair in the morning—let alone add cream and sugar to their coffee.
- Hipsters who discovered the next mainstream café (but they knew it was cool first).
If you’re not on the list of black coffee-drinking stereotypes, you shouldn’t feel too left out. Of the 100 million Americans that drink coffee regularly, 35% of them drink it black. So why do they drink it black? The main reason is that they actually enjoy the taste of the coffee, and it allows them to fully embrace the coffee’s aroma, acidity, sweetness and body. In addition to keeping you awake and tasting all the coffee notes without the gross additives, black coffee can keep you healthy.
Benefits of Drinking Black Coffee
1. Experiencing the coffee, the way it was designed.
Roasters spend hours upon hours cupping, roasting and developing roast profiles to get the most out of beans that were diligently grown, harvested and processed. The taste of coffee can vary considerably from farm to farm, taking different weather conditions into account. Because of this, growing coffee takes constant evaluation to make sure the consistency stays the same time and time again throughout the process. Drinking your coffee black will help you appreciate the delicate process.
2. Can help with weight loss.
Black coffee has next-to-no calories, and its key ingredient, caffeine, plays a key role in calorie burning and appetite suppression. Plus, without the added milk, sugar and cream, you won’t experience the sugar crash. Enough said.
3. Lower risks of cancer and other diseases.
The benefits of black coffee consumption include a reduced risk of heart failure, multiple sclerosis and various cancers—just to name a few. Coffee drinking appears to reduce the risk of developing liver cancer, in particular, by 40%—so you can live-r longer.
4. The perfect excuse for being a cheap date.
As the cheapest option on the menu, black coffee will satisfy you, your wallet and your date’s wallet.
5. Endurance.
The perfect pre-workout might not be what you think it is. Screw the energy drinks and add black coffee to the list. Consuming caffeine before working out significantly improves endurance and running performance. Caffeine stimulates your muscles to use fat as fuel rather than glycogen stored in muscles. It also releases calcium stored within the muscles, which aids in endurance and speed. It gives you a jolt of energy and affects how hard you think you're working, so you can ultimately workout harder and longer without feeling exhausted.
6. Might reduce diabetes risk.
One of the compounds found in coffee can help reduce your chances of getting Type 2 diabetes, which is great news for the millions of Americans that are impacted by it. Grabbing that favorite brew each day ensures that your body increases its insulin sensitivity as well as its overall production, giving Type 2 diabetes a run for its money.
7. Bye-bye brain fog.
Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and dementia can be considered the most common neurodegenerative disease trifecta—thanks, in part, to the aging process. Although no known cures exist yet, drinking coffee is one way to help protect you from these diseases—or at least delay their development.
8. It’s impressive.
I don’t know what it is about black coffee that makes people bat an eye in your direction, but I encourage you to take advantage of it. One minute you’re feeling sorry for yourself as you drink a 500-calorie Frappuccino, but the next thing you know, you order a black coffee and the guy behind you is already on one knee.
Black coffee is in its purist form. It’s healthier, classier and simpler. Who doesn’t want a healthier, simpler life? Challenge accepted!
[Featured Image Credit: Nathan Dumlao via Unsplash]
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