Rarely are the words “Addiction” and “Good” “Thing” used in the same sentence, but in this case, it’s true. And that’s great news for this caffeine addled addict.
Seriously, three weeks ago I came down to the kitchen at 3:30AM, as I do every morning, to discover that we’re out of coffee!!! Yikes. What did I do? I put some clothes on, hopped in my car, and drove 3 miles to the nearest 7-Eleven. Good thing my car started. If it hadn’t I might have had to break into a neighbor’s house and steal some. Seriously, that’s how hooked I am.
But coffee junkies, rejoice! Researches have outlined the 6 top reasons why caffeine addiction is good for you:
1 You’ll live longer.
Harvard School of Public Health nutritional expert Dr. Rob van Dam found that caffeine addicts may live longer than those who go without. He and a team of researchers studied 130,000 coffee drinkers over the course of 24 years and found the “side effects” were really nothing to be worried about.
In fact, indulging in a non-flavored cup of your favorite roast might even put you on the right track toward longevity.
2 Java junkies are better athletes.
Feeling a little too old to pick up a new sport? Turns out that java could spur the extra jolt you need to get going – and stay going. Coffee, apparently, increases the number of fatty acids in your bloodstream that makes it easy for your muscles to absorb and burn those fats as fuel. Which means you’ll feel energized from tip-off to overtime.
3 Weight loss just got a whole lot easier.
Extract from green coffee beans (coffee beans that haven’t yet been roasted) was found to be a significant aid in weight loss for adults.
The study, performed by the Psychology Department at the University of Scranton, followed 16 overweight adults for 22-weeks and found that those given green coffee extract had undergone “significant weight loss.” WooooHooooo
4 Coffee could keep your mental – and physical – health intact.
The American Chemical Society found that coffee drinkers limit their risk of Type-2 Diabetes, while a similar study published in the Journal of Agricultural & Food Chemistry found that people who drink four or more cups of joe a day reduce their chances of Type-2 Diabetes by more than fifty percent.
Another study performed by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School that followed women and over a 20-year period found that women who drink more than three cups of coffee a day are way less likely to develop skin cancer when compared to female non-coffee drinkers.
And if those effects weren’t enough to woo you, researchers from the University of Eastern Finland School of Medicine found that people who drank three to five cups of coffee each day had a 65 percent lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s and dementia later on in life.
5 Your morning – and afternoon – fix pretty much makes you smarter.
Turn toward that morning cup with a little more enthusiasm! Turns out that the morning energy boost you get from your local barista isn’t just helping you get to work on time – it’s helping unlock your smarts, too.
Time magazine reporter Michael Lemonick, who was quoted in the report and is an avid coffee-drinker himself said, “It allows you to use what brain power you have in a much more efficient and focused way.”
6 Coffee drinkers are just naturally happier.
You probably don’t need a slew of research to tell you what you already know: The bliss that slides in as soon as you take your first whiff of the miracle that is coffee is what true happiness is all about, right? You better believe it Baby.