Black Coffee Reclaims its Throne as one of the Best Weight Loss Foods
Black coffee is one of the leading beverages around the world. It recently has gained a spot in the list of weight loss foods.
Black coffee gives you a kick in the morning to complete your day. It also helps you to lose some weight. While adding things like sugar and cream can send its calorie content through the roof, black coffee can speed up weight loss and offer you some other great benefits too.
Caffeine is not only a stimulant; it is an appetite suppressor. That means your cup of coffee could make you less inclined to get the urge to start munching before lunch.
In addition to defeating your appetite, black coffee also offers some health benefits like slowing down glucose production, because of its chlorogenic acid, fights water retention, boosts your metabolic rate, and serves as antioxidants in your body.
If you are a coffee drinker, then have no fear, just hold the sugar and the cream. Black coffee is one of the lesser-known weight loss foods that can boost your energy levels and your weight loss results.
If you decide to keep it on your list of diet meals, you need to know everything about coffee. First, let us discuss about the coffee bean.
Coffee Bean
Coffee bean comes from two known varieties, Arabica and Robusta. Among the 100 species of coffee plant, these two are quite famous and commonly used for making black coffee. The color and shape of coffee beans are almost the same. Only the fruit trees are different if you notice the shape of the leaves.
A coffee tree can bear fruit after four years. It is the maximum growth years before the harvest and processing of its red fruit. Inside the red fruit is the seed, and if you hulled, polished, graded, and sorted out for quality control that grain is what makes the coffee bean.
If you see a coffee bean in green color, it is still a milled coffee bean. It only has undergone a slightly roasting procedure to make a lighter coffee bean that has weight loss properties.
Coffee bean processing
They believe that the processing of a coffee bean has an excellent effect on the nutrients it provides and the aroma it produces while brewing. In roasting, you can choose three categories from light, medium, and dark roasts.
Light roasts give off a delicate taste when brewed but more acidic than other roasts coffee beans. You can use high-quality beans for during roasting to retain their original flavors and taste. On the other hand, medium roasts coffee beans are commonly known as ‘American roast’ because of the color and taste it provides. Most people choose this type of roasting. Why? In this type of roast, you can have a black coffee with less acidity content, and the color of the roast bean is medium brown. The last kind of coffee bean roasting is the dark roast. The dark roasted coffee bean has low acidity but has a strong taste. The types of coffee bean that are being roasted in this state are beans of low quality.
It is essential to identify the types of coffee beans before the process of coffee bean roasting.
Type of Coffee Beans
The variance of coffee beans are commonly dropped into shapes, sizes and the aroma it produces while brewing. Making a black coffee can tell the difference between Arabica and Robusta.
Arabica coffee beans are flat and elongated and can be harvested from the coffee trees that are growing about 2,000 to 6,000 feet above sea level. The area should have a cold temperature between 15 to 24 degrees Celsius and a moderate amount of rainfall. These farming conditions make Arabica coffee to cost more than other types of coffee. Arabica coffee trees need intensive cultivation because of the terrain, climate requirements and also ensuring that no pests and diseases can come forward from the flowering to fruiting stage.
Moreover, Arabica coffee beans contain low acidity level and caffeine. Therefore, most people choose to have black coffee made of Arabica. It tastes less bitter than any coffee.
But other people opt to have Robusta black coffee. Unlike Arabica, Robusta coffee requires low altitudes and steady temperature between 24 to 29 degrees Celsius. The cultivation needs lesser attention than Arabica; hence; it is sold at affordable price. If you are a coffee drinker and used to instant coffee blends, then you are drinking Robusta coffee. If you have heart problems and palpitations occurrences, you are not allowed to take Robusta.
Also, Robusta has high levels of caffeine and taste bitter. If you want an espresso, Robusta is a key to appreciate the bitter taste of coffee.
Why is drinking black coffee important?
Given the two popular coffee blends, you need to look into the nutritional value it offers. Black coffee has no other components but water and coffee. You can never add sweetener and creamer if you want to keep it in your diet program.
Black coffee contains a low amount of calories, approximately 2 calories according to USDA – National Nutrient Database. Therefore, it is perfect for your health as long as you take only an adequate amount of coffee daily. The average black coffee you can consume daily is 3 to 4 cups. Beyond that, it is risky especially if you have underlying health problems.
To know the aromatic and beautiful effects of drinking it, here are the health benefits we can acquire.
Black coffee as Memory Enhancer
Black coffee promotes cognitive skills and prevents the occurrences of Dementia, Alzheimer’s disease by 65%, and Parkinson’s by 60%. At morning, drinking black coffee helps the brain to stay focus and enhances brain function like memory and alertness. Black coffee is responsible for keeping the nerves active, and for slowing down the symptoms of brain disorder.
Decreasing of brain functions like memory, alertness, and concentration are unavoidable. However, it can be prevented by eating healthy foods like black coffee and regular exercises. Increasing the neurotransmitters in our brain can prevent Alzheimer’s disease and boost brain functions like response times and memory. It also contributes to the overall purpose of our body in terms of cognitive functioning, moods and energy.
Black coffee for Weight Loss
Drinking black coffee for weight loss is possible because it increases the adrenaline levels in your blood. Before hitting the gym or doing your workout for the day, drink at least a cup of black coffee 30 minutes before. This regimen can boost your physical strength by 100% and accelerate your nervous system to break down your fats into energy for your workout.
Besides, black coffee is right for your health to make sure to take the average serving per day. The compound in coffee responsible for burning fats is caffeine. Adequate intake of caffeine in our body should help us lose weight, but too much consumption can result otherwise.
Black coffee to Prevent Cardiovascular Diseases
If you have symptoms of cardiovascular diseases, you should take note of that before drinking coffee. But, what is right in drinking daily 2 to 3 cups of black coffee has health benefits.
Black coffee reduces the symptoms of heart diseases by 20%. It is true that caffeine increases your blood pressure and heart rate, but it will subside after a while. The effect of caffeine on our body is equivalent for a short distant walk around the corner.
Black coffee as Liver Healthy Food
Are you worrying about the harmful effects of black coffee on your liver because of the caffeine contents? You don’t need to worry because black coffee is considered as one of the healthy foods for the liver.
People who drink four or more cups of black coffee daily have 80% lower of having liver disease. It helps in lowering the risk of liver cancer by 40% and preventing other liver diseases like hepatitis, fatty liver, and cirrhosis. Black coffee has a way to help lower the harmful enzymes in our blood which caused by unhealthy liver
Black Coffee Prevents Cancer
If you are looking for a drink, which contains antioxidants, you are now reading about it. Black coffee has more antioxidants because of the vitamins and minerals it offers.
Black coffee has vitamins B2, B3, B5, and minerals like manganese, potassium, and magnesium. You are aware that our body can quickly absorb foods in liquid form, and therefore, in a single cup of black coffee, you can have all the antioxidants that your body needs. An adequate amount of antioxidants in our body can reduce cancer risk and inflammation for early symptoms of tumors.
With 4 to 5 cups of black coffee daily, it can lower by 15% the risk of colon cancer, which is good because colon cancer is one of the unrecognizable cancers in an early stage. Black coffee reduces the risk of skin cancer by 20%.
Black Coffee Promotes Normal Blood Sugar
Drinking black coffee with creamer and sugar can ruin the health benefits of coffee. Even a small drop of creamer and a pinch of sugar can alter the nutrients it offers and can result in the proliferation of blood sugar level in our body.
Black coffee helps to maintain the average level of blood sugar in our body. It promotes insulin production in our body; therefore; it reduces the risk of type-2 diabetes. One cup of black coffee daily can reduce the risk by 7%.
As a result, it will not harm your sugar level if you drink enough of it daily. Furthermore, it promotes the reduction of type-2 diabetes.
Black Coffee Slow Down Aging
Aging is a natural process. You can only slow it down during the process. Try to make your self calmed and blissful in any circumstances. The aroma of black coffee can trigger the brain to be at ease and boost our brain nerves in the morning.
Black coffee boosts the dopamine levels in the body, which keeps us calmer and prevents the early signs of Parkinson’s disease. The more composed our brain, the better we can feel relax and taking the day motivated and less-stress.
Black Coffee Can Fight Depression and Anxiety
Depression and anxiety are common enemies of each one nowadays and to fight it, we need medical attention. In some way, we can take up to two cups of black coffee to ease our depression and anxiety attacks.
Black coffee keeps our negative emotions and dilemmas at bay. It offers some pleasure chemicals to boost our moods and alter our depression and anxiety emotions. Drinking at least four cups of it increase our spirits to become happier by 20% and become less depressed.
Of course, drinking coffee alone is not a cure for depression and anxiety. People who are suffering from these emotions need medical attention and a good conversation over a cup of coffee in a pleasant ambiance coffee shop.
Side effects of Coffee
Furthermore, if you want to maintain your heart health and reduce the risk of stroke, all you need to do is enjoy your cup of black coffee. It is unnecessary to add sweetener or any flavorings to have some twist while drinking it. Black coffee should be served as it is to maintain all the goodness and prevent any risk of stroke in your health. Any amount of food preservatives that you will add in your coffee can trigger harmful side effects. Other side effects of black coffee are as a result of drinking more than 10 cups of coffee in a day. Above the daily-recommended caffeine, consumption can lead to heart problems and disorders over time. However, pregnant and lactating women should avoid caffeine because of the health risk effect on the baby.
Other Uses of Coffee
Other than the health benefits we can get from coffee, we can use it in many ways. It is versatile as other foods, which is considered as one of the healthy foods.
For example, we can use coffee in our cooking. We can mix it during marinade, in our gravy and sauce. For baking to add coffee flavor, just semi-crushed a tablespoon of coffee beans to your cake, cookie, and brownies.
Other than cooking, you can use the coffee ground left from your coffee makers as a nitrogen source in your garden. To make use of it, you need to add directly to your compost pit and let it decomposed for a couple of days. Afterwards, you can use the mixture to your plants.
Beauty benefits of coffee
Moreover, coffee grounds are a process and used for body exfoliation. At home, you can rub coffee grounds gradually in your body and face then leave it for a couple of minutes. It can be applied to your hair for a natural regimen of making your hair shiny and healthy. After using your regular shampoo, you can grab a handful of coffee grounds and mix with your conditioner. Applied to your hair and you can rinse thoroughly. Coffee grounds are also a natural way to color your hair. To do this, dip your wet hair into a bowl of dark coffee and repeatedly pour the coffee in your hair. After doing this, place your hair under a shower cap, making sure it was sealed. Afterwards, you can rinse your hair.
If not satisfied with the color it produces, you can prepare a thick paste of instant coffee using hot water and apply the paste in the sections of your hair that need darkening. In doing this, make sure that all your hair has the same shades of black to avoid a hilarious result. You can also make a unique color in your clothes or any fabric by soaking into the coffee mixture. The shade will be different from the other fabric color because of the natural look that coffee sap offers.
Coffee for Home-Use
Moreover, coffee can be used as a natural deodorizer in some closed-door areas in your house. You can place coffee grounds in an empty jar and punch some holes in the cover. After doing that, you can put it in your cabinets, microwave, shoe cabinet, and in your car neutralize the undesirable odors. You can also place a coffee ground in your kitchen or pantry to reduce smell residuals from your cooking.
Our Insights
Indeed, coffee black is essential to our health, but we should consume enough coffee to avoid heart diseases or otherwise. If you are going to buy coffee beans in the market, you can say that it is fresh with the aroma.
Black coffee can be prepared quickly. You should not use any chemicals to clean the beans before brewing the coffee. Usually, well-packaged coffee grounds have been made safe and clean and following the quality control of seeds. Remember that in preparation of coffee grounds, it already went through the process.
To conserve the freshness and aroma of coffee beans, the storage is essential. If the storage is sealed and has the right room temperature for coffee beans, it can last up to two weeks. After that, the characteristics of coffee beans will change. The acidity and aroma will be different. And so, black coffee brewed from stored coffee beans may have a distinct smell and taste.
Black coffee has great significance in our health especially for losing some of our weight. If you would notice, drinking black coffee has caffeine, which in the right amount is useful to our health. It also promotes nutrients that support our overall health and prevents chronic diseases. The most significant thing to remember before drinking black coffee is to take only the average amount of daily consumption and everything will work just fine.
