Sure, you love your morning caffeine just for the little zing it puts in your step. But turns out, the aftermath of your daily caffeine fix may be more complex than simply stimulating your central nervous system and jolting you awake. Recently coffee has been making headlines for its health benefits. Yes, you read that correctly.
From preventing cancer and depression and acting like a natural antioxidant to ward off oxidative stress (inside and out), coffee is getting a lot of good press lately. A few tiny tweaks to your caffeine routine and you can totally make that drink do double duty: It’ll get you going and do your body (and skin and mind) good. From how you drink it to what kind of bean you prefer (yes, the roast you choose does affect more than your taste buds), this guide has everything you need to know before you jump in line at Starbucks.
“Coffee is packed with antioxidants as well as magnesium and chromium, essential minerals that your body needs,” says Keri Gans, RD, CDN, a nutritionist in New York City and author of The Small Change Diet. But coffee can also contain some not-so-great stuff so it really does matter what you order on a regular basis. “Unfiltered coffee contains higher levels of cafestol, a compound that can elevate LDL (aka bad) cholesterol — but when coffee is brewed with a filter (like classic American drip), most of the cafestol is removed,” explains Gans. What is unfiltered coffee you ask? Think: Espresso (as in the straight stuff and what’s found in a yummy latte) as well as Turkish coffee and the kind that comes from a French press.
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