Is there any benefit to drinking Caffeine rich beverages?
For a great number of people, it’s important to have that morning cup of coffee. It might sound like a cliché, but there’s some real solid science behind this ritual. Caffeine is, after all, something that benefits our bodies greatly—both in short-term and long-term contexts.
Of course, caffeine doesn’t just come from coffee. You can also get it from tea leaves (tea) and cocoa beans (chocolate). There are also synthetic sources. Anyway, let’s check out some of the reasons why drinking caffeine each morning benefits a person.
Energy boost
Caffeine is sure to give your energy levels a considerable boost in the morning, when you’re likely still feeling pooped from a late night, from lack of sleep, or from general fatigue, among other reasons.
This is accomplished by amplifying the effects of the different neurotransmitters, namely acetylcholine, dopamine, and serotonin. Caffeine also has the ability to increase the rate at which catecholamines are released. Catecholamines are hormones that include epinephrine, which is also known as adrenaline.
Antioxidant content
Our body is continuously barraged by free radicals that damage our body’s important building blocks such as DNA and proteins, so it’s important to have antioxidants that combat these.
Antioxidants are so named because they inhibit oxidation, and they do this during the process in which our bodies break down the food that we consume. Free radicals are produced in this process and are also produced when we are exposed to smoke from cigarettes as well as various kinds of radiation.
Caffeine provides a great number of antioxidants, which neutralize free radicals. This in turn allows people to avoid diseases such as diabetes, Alzheimer’s, liver issues, and even cancer.
Fat-burning properties
Did you know that caffeine also helps promote the burning of fat within our body? Caffeine can increase lipolysis, which is the breaking down of fat as well as other lipids. Caffeine also stimulates the body’s metabolism, which helps the body burn off more of those fatty acids. This process is called thermogenesis. Basically, the caffeine helps signal your body that it has to burn off more calories.
Timing your caffeine intake
Be careful about the timing, though. Studies show that the optimal time for caffeine isn’t really first thing in the morning. It’s around a few hours after you’ve woken up. This allows you to keep in step with your body’s production of something called cortisol, which helps stimulate us and keep us awake.
The idea is to consume caffeine during off-peak cortisol production. This allows the caffeine to work efficiently without affecting the production of cortisol and interrupting the natural functions of this hormone. It also helps us avoid developing a tolerance for coffee. Timing the caffeine kick just right not only does wonders for your day, but it also sets you up nicely in the long term.
So, it turns out that getting that caffeine fix in the morning can play a role that could really benefit your daily routine. The caffeine provides a jump-start that energizes your day, preparing you for a whole day’s worth of work and activity. In addition, Caffeine intake also has numerous long-term health benefits, so getting that daily cup of coffee or tea really could do wonders for you!
References
Retrieved from:
https://ods.od.nih.gov
https://www.healthline.com
https://www.webmd.com