Drinking a cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon has been a ritual by most people. However, for some, it’s quite difficult to enjoy a cup of coffee with so many myths surrounding it. You might be hearing tons of tall tales that negatively impact the way you consume coffee. Some coffee myths can make you feel guilty for enjoying your favorite rich beverage. However, most of these myths are simply misinformation.
To help you enjoy your morning or afternoon coffee to the fullest, let us talk about the different coffee myths out there and see if they are true or just some made-up information. Here are the famous myths about coffee.
Coffee Myth #1: Drinking coffee can cause dehydration
This is probably the biggest myth about coffee. Based on a study done by British researchers, the body fluid levels of 50 men were the same whether they drank coffee or water for hydration. With this, it’s fine to count coffee as part of a person’s fluid intake. What’s important is to watch out for the signs of dehydration, as it is a better indicator instead of cutting out coffee altogether.
How do you think this myth came to be? Well, maybe because caffeine is known to be a natural diuretic. However, the amount that people urinate is not as significant as what some believed. Since too much-caffeinated coffee can make people nervy, water is still the best form of hydration. To make your coffee habit healthier, you can drink it in the morning, then drink plain water for the rest of the day.
Coffee Myth #2: Coffee can help in weight loss
The stimulant caffeine is oftentimes included in weight-loss pills. A cup of coffee may also lead to a short-term rise in metabolic rate. However, there is still no proof that it can help you lose weight. It can also be difficult to believe since many people prefer to drink coffee with lots of calorie-packed creams and sugars.
Caffeine may reduce a person’s desire to eat for a short while, but there’s no evidence that long-term consumption of coffee helps in weight loss. But it can give you a bit more energy to exercise. And to make your coffee healthier, you can instead use skim milk or drink plain coffee, such as French press, which is beneficial for your health.
Coffee Myth #3: Coffee can cause cancer
Many people claim that they’ve cut out coffee from their diets because it is unhealthy and may cause cancer. But did you know that coffee is on the list of cancer-fighting foods, which was published by the American Institute for Cancer Research? Yes, and that’s because it is rich in antioxidants. Cancer begins with DNA damage, and the antioxidants in coffee can help protect your cells and keep them healthy. Therefore, if you have any DNA damage due to secondhand smoke or other pollutants from the environment, antioxidants can aid in repairing cell damage. In addition, there are many studies that have linked coffee to a decreased risk of prostate, breast, liver, and skin cancers. With this, it’s fine to enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning or afternoon. In fact, you can enjoy different types of coffee daily, and a Coffee Gator pour over travel mug can help you with that.
Coffee Myth #4: Coffee is bad for the heart
Most healthy people can experience a short, temporary increase in blood pressure after taking in caffeine. However, this is not harmful in the long run. Did you know that coffee is among the best foods to eat to prevent clogged arteries? Also, people who drink coffee regularly can build up a tolerance to the caffeine, and they may not experience such effects after a cup.
However, if you have high blood pressure, you need to talk to your doctor and see if you need to limit your caffeine intake. They also need to pay attention to how they feel after drinking and see if there are palpitations or increased heart rate.
Coffee Myth #5: Coffee can increase cholesterol levels
One of the ways your daily cup of coffee affects your body is by altering cholesterol. A compound called cafestol is found in coffee, and it is a potential stimulator of increased LDL cholesterol. But this is only found in the oily part of coffee. This means that if you use a paper filter in making coffee, you will lose that component. You can learn more about the different types of coffee makers in our coffee maker history post. If you do not have an elevated LDL cholesterol, you don’t need to worry about it when drinking coffee.
Coffee Myth #6: Coffee can cure a hangover
Most people tend to drink a hot cup of coffee when they wake up with a hangover. If you are groggy after drinking too much the previous night, coffee might help, as it can stimulate the central nervous system and help you improve your focus. However, it cannot clear out the alcohol in your system. This means that drinking coffee after having too much alcoholic drinks is not helpful and will not help you sober up. But it can make the morning after a little less painful.
Coffee Myth #7: Coffee can stunt growth
Most kids are told by their parents that coffee can stunt their growth whenever they ask for a sip. While it’s true that kids up to their teenage years should avoid coffee, it’s false that coffee or caffeine can stunt growth. There’s research that suggests caffeine can leach calcium from the bones. However, that is more applicable to older adults and not in the younger populations. Also, the amount in this is so small that increasing milk intake can make up for the loss in calcium. This means that the calcium-leaching effect that a cup of coffee has can be balanced with about two tablespoons of milk.
Coffee Myth #8: Drinking a cup of coffee in the afternoon can cause insomnia
Even though caffeine is a stimulant, the coffee you drink after lunch is processed through the liver fast. Meaning, nearly all of it would be flushed out of your body in 4 to 7 hours. Therefore, if you drink coffee at around 3 in the afternoon, it would be gone completely by bedtime. This is unless you are a slow coffee metabolizer. In addition, insomnia is caused by more serious health issues and not by drinking coffee.
These are some of the most popular myths about coffee. Which of these myths have you believed before? Having these myths debunked by professionals makes it more enjoyable to have a cup of coffee anytime and anywhere you like.