Coffee has become a staple in the morning routine of nearly everyone. Despite this, health professionals hardly agree on whether or not coffee is good for you.
The fact is that the coffee can actually provide many health benefits that extend past just increasing energy and curbing appetite. Let's dive in!
Health Benefits
Besides the obvious increase in energy you get from the caffeine in coffee, coffee can offer several other health benefits.
Increase Fiber
- Coffee contains a little bit of fiber to contribute towards your total daily fiber goal, which may be important on a ketogenic diet.
Reduce Risk of Parkinson’s Disease
- Research out of Sweden has found that consuming caffeine can reduce the risk of Parkinson’s Disease.
Improve Feelings of Well-Being
- There has been some research linking the consumption of coffee to a lower risk of depression.
Neuroprotection
- Caffeine can help protect the brain from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s Disease due to a compound known as Trigonelline.
Increased Fat Burning
- Coffee can ramp up metabolism to promote fat burning!
These are just some of the health benefits associated with consuming coffee. There is also some research out reporting it can help reduce M.S., type 2 diabetes, liver cirrhosis, and even heart disease!
The Cons of Coffee
Despite all of the health benefits of coffee, there are also things you should be aware of when it comes to getting yourself a brew.
Coffee can be very dirty which can lead to many adverse health effects. This is especially true to unfiltered coffee, which can contain many compounds that can be harmful to your overall health.
Additionally, coffee acts as a diuretic meaning that it increased urine output. This can lead to not only to dehydration but also electrolyte deficiencies which can have the following symptoms:
- Brain Fog
- Fatigue
- Muscle Cramps
- Heart Palpitations
- Constipation
- Muscle Weakness
Coffee can also impair the absorption of certain vitamins and minerals which is why you probably should not consume it with other vitamins and minerals.
Obviously, caffeine in coffee can be an issue when consumed in excess. For this reason, you should always assess your tolerance and know how much coffee is good for you.
Coffee and Ketone Production
IF you have been following me than you should have expected me to throw in something on keto! Can drinking coffee increase your ketone levels?
Many people speak about the fat burning potential of caffeine but what about the ketone producing potential of caffeine?
A 2016 study set out to determine this by giving participants either 2.5 mg/kg of caffeine or 5 mg/kg of caffeine and testing blood levels of ketones and free fatty acids. They found that subjects consuming the lower dose of caffeine saw an 88% increase in ketones why the subjects consuming the higher dose saw an 118% increase!
It is important to point out that subjects were fasted prior to having the caffeine and fasted following consumption, during testing. This means that some of the increase in ketones could be attributed to the extension of the fast.
However, the fact that the higher caffeine group had a greater increase in ketones leads to the belief that caffeine can play a role in ketone production!
Take Home
The health benefits of coffee become even greater when we talk about their ability to increase ketone production. Ketones have the ability to improve cognitive function, brain health, reduce inflammation, and treat a variety of chronic conditions!
As mentioned earlier, it is important to assess your caffeine tolerance. Having too much coffee can lead to many adverse side effects so always know your limits!