Why should you be drinking coffee? How is coffee a better and healthier alternative to pre-workouts? Today we will be discussing the benefits of drinking coffee and how it gives you an edge in almost any fitness or cognitive endeavor.

Disclaimer

Coffee is a relatively safe beverage to consume. However, there are people who should avoid its consumption. You should always consult your doctor before you start drinking coffee. Especially if you are someone who is already suffering from health concerns such as hypertension, arrhythmias, people with anxiety or breast-feeding mothers. Depending on how severe your condition might be, your doctor might tell you to limit your intake or completely avoid drinking it. So, please consult with your health professional.

Benefits of Coffee on Mental and Physical Health Based on Research

There have been vast amounts of studies done on both coffee and caffeine . There are various benefits of drinking coffee which range from lowering your risk of developing type-2 diabetes. (2). Coffee drinking has also been associated with lower risk of  cardiovascular diseases mortality (3).  Coffee is widely known for it’s antioxidants and some of them work as an antioxidant for the liver (4). The caffeine in coffee might also be beneficial for mental health related diseases such as Alzheimer’s ((5), Parkinson’s (6) as well as dementia (7). Coffee drunk in limited amounts can also help alleviate migraine pains as it reduces migraine-related inflammation. Most headache medicines have certain dosages of caffeine in them to alleviate pain. However, caffeine taken in excess can have the completely opposite effect on both headaches or migraines.

Coffee as a natural performance enhancer

When paired with an optimal training approach such as TUT & MMC, Coffee can not only allow you to build more muscle but make you stronger on your lifts. From 1984-2004, Coffee used to be banned from sports as it was considered to give athletes an edge  by “Enhancing-Performance”. Further proving this nature’s supplement’s benefits.

Coffee vs pre-workout

If your someone who drinks pre-workouts before going to the gym. A pre-workout might be beneficial as far as supplying you with energy during your workouts, particularly in the gym. However, not every pre-workout is safe for you. The FDA has minimal control over pre-workouts. Which means that they can have dangerous amounts of stimulants or ingredients in them.

Which, at lower doses, can be beneficial but can be dangerous. However, if the product is purchased from an untrustworthy brand or consumed by someone with no knowledge of what’s in their pre-workouts. Which is almost everyone who works out, as no one checks the labels, just the caffeine content in their Pre’s.

Generally, every person that works out has no knowledge about what’s in their pre. How it can affect them on an individual basis. Not to mention the fact, there are some people who take more than recommended dosages per workout. Thinking this will increase their performance in the gym.  Doubling the amount of caffeine in an already extremely caffeinated product. Not to mention the ingredients that are carefully dosed for maximum performance but can be detrimental to your well being if consumed in excess.

This is where coffee is a better alternative to pre-workouts. Coffee provides you with caffeine. Which is the prime driving force of energy that you experience while working out. Besides having antioxidants in it, it is a much healthier alternative. There are no ingredients to watch out for. Nothing that is unnatural.

The recommended dosage

There are many benefits of drinking coffee, but the one common thing to watch out for in both coffee and pre-workouts is.  How much caffeine are you consuming per cup/scoop? According to the FDA,  400 milligrams a day for healthy adults. Which is about four or five cups of coffee. However, these are supposed to be consumed throughout the day, not in one sitting.  Drinking just one or two might just do the job for you in the case of potential benefits and energy.

Caffeine an addiction ?

What you need to look out for, however, is not to be addicted to caffeine. People do not get addicted to caffeine as they would to nicotine from smoking. Your body starts building more tolerance to caffeine over a period of time. Which results in people going for two cups. Once the body gets used to that, the effects no longer last. They move on to three cups and so on. This is the approach that needs to stop. Caffeine is not the problem.

 The desire to have that adrenaline rush is what people are addicted to. What you need to understand is coffee does not just give you an adrenaline rush if consumed moderately on and off. It also raises your cortisol levels, which is the primary stress hormone. Hence, it can start inducing anxiety in people who consume too much caffeine. People already suffering from anxiety can have worse effects. However, drinking coffee at recommended dosages or just a cup can in fact have a positive effect and reduce anxiety. That is why the best way to drink coffee is to drink it at recommended dosages. 

When you start getting used to it, stop drinking coffee for a few days or drink less than half of what you are used to drinking. This allows your body to reset and then one cup of coffee will start working just fine for you. Too much of anything is bad and something as beneficial as coffee is no exception to that either.

Conclusion

• You should consult a health professional, especially if prone or currently suffering from anything that caffeine might interfere with.
•  Coffee has been extensively studied with research that spans over years of time and is one of the safest  nervous system stimulants if consumed at appropriate dosages.
• Pre-workouts can be extremely beneficial if carefully bought and from a reputable source. However, Caffeine in coffee works just fine and can be a healthy alternative for people not willing to go the extra mile when it comes to Pre’s.
• The recommended dosage is for healthy adults. For others, it’s better to ingest the amount that your doctor recommends you to.
• Caffeine is not what causes addiction. The adrenaline rush is what people get addicted to.
• excessive consumption of coffee can lead to more cortisol production and induce anxiety. It’s better to limit the amount you ingest if already suffering from anxiety. Just a cup of coffee a day will help with being more productive and in fact help reduce anxiety.
• It can take 2-14 days for your body to rest from being tolerant to caffeine, which depends on how far you have taken it.
• The benefits of drinking coffee far outweighs the cons, which can be limited to almost zero if proper precautions are taken.