What I didn't know about drinking coffee.

Up until Christmas 2018 I was just an average run-of-the-mill regular coffee and tea drinking guy. With the gift of a coffee bean grinder from my three sons, I have become somewhat of a coffee connoisseur, reading all things coffee related.

Here are some interesting facts about my new fangled interest in coffee.

Firstly, did you know coffee is good for you? 

Here are seven reason why coffee may actually be one of the healthiest beverages in the world:

1. Coffee can make you smarter. The active ingredient in coffee is caffeine, the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world.

Caffeine works on the brain by blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called adenosine.

Stay with me now, I don't want you glazing over on me.

This caffeine actually increases neuronal firing in the brain and helps the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine. Studies on the effects of caffeine on the brain demonstrates that caffeine can temporarily improve mood, reaction time, memory, vigilance and general brain function.

2. Caffeine raises metabolic rate and helps mobilize fatty acids from fat tissues. It can also enhance physical performance.

3. Drinking coffee is associated with a drastically reduced risk of type 2 diabetes. People who drink several cups per day are the least likely to develop diabetes.

4. Coffee is associated with a much lower risk of dementia band like the neurodegenerative disorders of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

5. Coffee appears to be protective against liver disorders, lowering the risk of liver cancer by 40% and cirrhosis by as much as 80%.

6. Drinking coffee has been associated with a lower risk of death in prospective observational studies, especially in people with type 2 diabetes.

7. Coffee contains a decent amount of several vitamins and minerals. It is also one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the modern diet.*

Three cups of coffee a day 'may have health benefits'. Moderate coffee drinking is safe and three to four cups a day may have some health benefits, according to a large number of studies in the British Medical Journal.

A group of German molecular biologists believe four cups of coffee a day might be the recipe for a healthy heart, especially in older adults.

In the words of Peter Sellers impersonating Sir Michael Caine: "Not a lot of people know that!"

(*source - www.Healthline.com)