10 ways to make the most of your coffee habit
Coffee lovers are
constantly tinged with guilt. You can't do without it, but each time you gulp a
cup of creamy steaming coffee, the fact that you are consuming something
unhealthy keeps plaguing your mind. But it's actually not that bad. Coffee,
when had the right way, can actually help you on your way to good health. Here
are 10 ways to make the most out of that coffee habit of yours.
Don't drink coffee before
10 am. Research shows that people feel pretty alert for the first hour or two
after waking up because of high cortisone levels in the body. You need coffee
when you reach office because by that time your cortisone levels drop.
Space out your coffee
consumption. Re searchers have found that small, frequent doses of caffeine are
more effective than a huge dose first thing in the morning.
Don't drink coffee with
your meals. Have it an hour after lunch, when you feel sleepy. Avoid coffee
after dinner. It may seem like a comforting thing to have, but it will spoil
your sleep.
On the other hand, having a
coffee before a power nap may be the best thing to do.
Research shows that cof fee
before a power nap results in better productivity after waking up.
Top up every caffeinated
drink you have each day with a glass of water. Coffee has diuretic properties.
That basically means you pee more often and lose more water from the body. You
need to replenish that.
Know how much caffeine you
are consuming.
About 400 mg of caffeine a
day is thought to be safe for adults. More than this can lead to irritability,
upset stomach and insomnia.
Drinking a small cup of
coffee after a learn ing event boosts memory. So if you've just at tended a
meeting and been put in charge of a difficult project, have some coffee before
you start making a to-do list.
Your dietician may disagree
but coffee before a workout may actually work to your benefit, says research.
Not only does coffee make you more motivated to exercise, caffeine also im
proves your endurance by using fat as fuel.
But the real benefit of a
coffee is how you drink it. Adding milk and sugar to it is not the best way to
go about it. Instead, drink black coffee or coffee with plant-based milk
additives, like almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk. Switch from sugar to raw
honey.
Avoid milk substi tutes and
artifi cial sweeteners like the plague!
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Vasundara R
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TL10APR16
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