Coffee & Health: new year’s resolutions
Ok 2020 has definitely not been the best year for many of us. But if you also believe in the positive power of a “New year, New start” then read this article and find out how drinking coffee can benefit both your health and your mindset.
If you’re reading this article then you’re probably one of the approximately 1 billion people who drink coffee every day. While we in fact know that each person and body is different and that the amount of daily caffeine intake must vary based on your gender, weight, age and medical condition, recent studies have once more confirmed that drinking coffee every day has various physical and mental benefits.
Coffee can prevent and lower the risk of various diseases
Over the past years many different studies have been conducted by important research institutes around the world, regarding how coffee can prevent certain diseases:
- prevention of liver cancer and endometriosis (International Agency Research on Cancer of the World Health Organisation, 2016)
- preventive effect on type 2 diabetes (systematic review by Ming Ding at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, 2014)
- lower risk of cardiovascular diseases and overall mortality rate (Moli-sani Institute, the Journal of Nutrition, 2020)
- preventive effect on Parkinson disease (Department of Veterans Affairs in Honolulu, 2000)
- also preventive effect of Parkinsons disease (Center for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Lisbon, 2010)
Coffee in combination with the Mediterranean diet
It’s clear that physical and mental health are a combination of many aspects of your life, combined to a healthy diet, activity and mindfulness practices such as meditation. But as an article published by the Harvard Health Publishing suggests, Mediterraneans seem to be doing quite well at least in terms of our diet and coffee habits.
In fact, The Mediterranean diet is “a healthy and balanced combination of: fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, olive oil, and whole grains. In particular, foods that are part of the Mediterranean diet——show promise for preserving memory and preventing Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia” as Stephanie Watson states in the article.
A better mindset
Coffee has also been proven to increase our alertness, improve our mood and stimulate our creativity as you can read in this article on Coffee & Health.
In these times of lock down in which we are facing new challenges which we have never been confronted with before, we recommend to take your coffee time or coffee break as a moment to be fully present and mindful. Especially, if you are stressed out and don’t have much time or space to meditate, try applying conscious presence to your coffee moment.
For instance, try to observe the crema, then attentively smell the aroma and finally taste the coffee, noticing the sensations you perceive. From the sweetness to acidity and the aftertaste.
If you want to learn more about focused attention and meditation, go check out Headspace.com where you can learn how to practice meditation through very useful, guided lessons (or go watch the new series they have just released on Netflix. Watch the trailer here below!