How Coffee can Help you Live a Healthy Life  

Karim Mohamed, the founder of TheUniversalHome.com, a place where every member of the family finds what he is looking for shared with Healthy Lombard that healthy life is the goal of many, but a few who strive to achieve it. Lots of tools and plans we put in place with the intention of living a healthy life, but when it comes to implementation not so many survive. A healthy life may be synonymous to some of us as a boring life, untasty food, hard life, lots of exercises, sleeping early, missing the fun, waking up early before the sun. But the truth is a healthy life is actually a productive life, a fruitful life, a life with the minimum amount of suffering and misery physically and mentally, a life where you achieve your goals and reach your potential.

This is the life that deserves the struggle and the patience you put until you properly set everything in place and get used to the new style of living. By putting in the effort and being patient for the results, success will be your ally and life will be a great journey.
So how is coffee related to this concept? How could this element be a part of the process that could potentially change your life for the good? Coffee could be your ally or your enemy, it all depends on how you consume it, so let’s figure out how coffee can help you live a healthy life, and what are negative habits you should avoid when drinking coffee.

Health Benefits of Coffee
Coffee contains caffeine, antioxidants, and other active substances that have lots of health benefits for your body. Coffee can help you live longer, recent studies have found a correlation between coffee drinkers and longer lives since coffee reduces some common diseases that cause death such as coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease. Studies have also found that people who drink coffee are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes because, as the theory goes, coffee can help you process glucose better. 

Heart failure happens when a weakened heart fails to pump enough blood to the body, drinking one or two cups of coffee a day can help prevent this from happening. Caffeine can reduce the chance of developing Parkinson’s disease, and it can help those who have the disease to better control their movements, as studies have found. Recent studies have also shown that people who regularly drink coffee have higher levels of liver enzymes that fall in the healthy range compared to those who don’t drink coffee.

Breakage of DNA can lead to diseases such as cancer, coffee helps your DNA to keep it together and not fall apart and cause health risks. Researchers found that coffee drinkers are 26 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer.

How to Drink Coffee the Right Way

You know there is a right and wrong way to do everything, drinking coffee is not an exception. Whether you love drinking cappuccino at your favorite or prefer to enjoy the whole process of picking the beans, roasting it, and brewing it at home, there are a few guidelines that you should follow to drink a healthier cup of coffee.

Don’t Drink Coffee the First Thing in the Morning

Coffee can reduce your feeling of hunger which may lead you to skip meals, skipping meals may sound a good tactic in the short term but actually, later in the day you will be starving and overeat which isn’t a thing you want to be doing.

An alternative strategy would be having your breakfast first and then drinking your coffee, this way you are fulfilling your body’s needs and still enjoying your coffee the way you like.

Stop Drinking Coffee 6 Hours Before Bed

Related to the previous point is to not drink coffee 6 hours before bed, because coffee contains caffeine and caffeine can make you stay alert and not be able to sleep, which will lead to you being tired the next day, and you will also be starving, and you will overeat.

The solution to that is to stop drinking coffee 6 hours before bed, so you can have a good night’s sleep, and you won’t feel starving the next day.

Control the Amount of Sugar You Consume Daily

The amount of sugar you consume a day can directly affect your weight loss efforts and if you exceed the daily limit it can lead to negative results. According to AHA, women should only consume 25 grams of added sugar, while men should consume 36 grams. Going beyond that limit can result in gaining weight, and it could even lead to heart health risks.  So be sure to stick to the limits and even if you would like to drink your coffee in a café make sure to check the amount of added sugar in your drink and ask for only one pump of sugar instead of the many they add.

Use an Alternative Creamer

Creamers contain high amounts of saturated fats, and if you drink several cups of coffee a day that can add up quickly. Saturated fats are responsible for weight gain and raising LDL cholesterol (AKA, bad cholesterol). Coffee creamers contain 30 calories and 2 grams of saturated fat per tablespoon. Alternatives could be half-and-half (20 calories) or whole milk (10 calories) or you can use unsweetened plant-based milk such as almond milk which contains 2 calories only.

Use Natural Sweeteners in Moderation

You might start considering natural sweeteners as an alternative option to add flavor to your cup of coffee, but you will still want to know that natural sweeteners are still considered added sugar, so you don’t want to excessively use them. Natural sweeteners like raw honey, maple syrup, agave nectar, and raw sugar provide more nutrients than table sugar, 

Use Flavored Coffee Beans

Using flavored coffee beans could be a great option to use when you are looking for a healthy cup of coffee, it can add taste to your coffee without adding any extra fats or calories. You can look for flavored coffee bags that use natural extracts such as vanilla rather than added sugar, this way you can enjoy your coffee without ruining your diet. Or another way of doing it if you can’t find flavored coffee beans is to add flavor to your coffee at home in the grinding process by adding a half spoon of cacao nibs to two cups of coffee beans to your grinder.

Alternate the Snacks that You Pair Coffee With

When drinking coffee, lots of us tend to pair it with snacks such as cookies, biscotti, or even chocolate. It’s okay if you do it every once in a while, but if you start practicing that habit regularly then it won’t be a diet-friendly habit and will affect your diet negatively.  You may want to break that habit altogether, or you can change the snacks with healthier options such as blueberries, almonds, or quick oats.

Learn to Enjoy Black Coffee

Black coffee has zero calories, so it could be considered the best coffee drink for weight loss and diet. What makes people scared of the idea of black coffee is that it has an awful taste but that actually isn’t true, you are just not used to its taste.

What you could do is you could gradually decrease the amount of cream and sweeteners you add to your coffee each time you drink it, eventually you will find yourself enjoying the taste of black coffee.