When I drink coffee, it’s usually because I need something to help me get out of bed and get to my 8am classes. But I’ve never understood the purpose of decaf coffee, it doesn’t give you energy or help you wake up in the slightest, and I know myself I’m not drinking coffee for the taste. So I decided to see if decaf coffee had any benefits, and it might actually be the healthier choice.
Caffeine definitely has its benefits including ” enhances performance during physical activity, boosts mental performance and alertness, increases concentration and problem-solving abilities, improves neuromuscular coordination, quickens reaction time, and boosts overall brain function”. But it also has drawbacks such as increasing blood pressure (only for a short period of time), but a more serious con is that too much consumption can lead to risk of heart disease.
Decaf coffee also have their pros which are very beneficial to one’s health, according to Natural News “Decaf coffee reduces the risk of incurring diabetes, cancer prevention, [and] decreased risk of heart problems”. Erin Coleman a nutrition, health, and fitness writer recommends decaf coffee if one tends to drink more than three cups of coffee a day.
This is really cool about decaf coffee! I’ve always wondered the same thing. When I drink regular coffee, it tends to make me extremely jumpy and feel weird, less than it keeps me awake. The health benefits that come from decaf coffee make me think that maybe I would be better off drinking decaf than regular. It is also scary though looking at the negative effects of decaf coffee. I guess there is a good and bad side to all kinds of coffees!
As an avid coffee drinker myself, I have also wondered why anyone would drink decaf coffee. Based on this, I guess people drink decaf for the taste. I wonder if there are health benefits to drinking decaf, or these people should just stick to water. It’s really interesting to finally understand this though.
As a very avid coffee drinker myself, this same question popped into my head when I accidentally bought decaf K-cups. It is nice to see that there are in fact benefits, and maybe I will actually start using the decaf coffee I got by mistake! But of course, fully caffeinated coffee will always have my heart.
Here is the article that I retrieved the second portion of my information from. Enjoy!
Josefine, I too have always wondered what the point of drinking decaf coffee is due to the fact that personally, I wouldn’t say that the dark liquid is particularly tasty. Additionally, I have always presumed that people use coffee as their drink of choice when in need of an energy boost. It is known that regular coffee has a positive effect on your liver. Health magazine points out that caffeine may not be the ingredient that actively benefits this organ, indicating that consuming decaf coffee may be just as advantageous. Also, women who are pregnant are strongly advised to stay away from caffeinated beverages and often wonder if decaf is a safe alternative in an attempt to curb their addictions. Upon researching this inquiry, I found that most experts agree that as long as one doesn’t consume more than 150 mg of caffeine a day, they will have a “safe pregnancy without any increased risk of health problems for your baby”. To conclude, this shows that decaffeinated coffee could be used as a safer substitute to regular coffee, thus making the decision to consume it a more understandable alternative.
This was great and I found another article that supports many of the points you made and answers some questions that you didn’t mention! Im defiantly going to try and drink more decaf coffee!