A cup of coffee for the mood
Posted on July 29, 2017 • 3 min read • 435 words
Today is another one of those days. Walking through the house like a zombie. Only after the much-needed cup of coffee can you expect any sort of serious reaction from me. Rita Corita sang it back in 1958: ‘Coffee, coffee, how a person perks up from it.’ I think this applies to more people. The Dutch drink an average of 3.2 cups of coffee per day. Other figures talk about 150 liters of coffee per person per year. Coffee is therefore the most consumed beverage in the Netherlands. The fact that music has been made about coffee indicates to me just how important coffee is.
After all, songs are written about all important subjects. So about coffee too.
The most famous ones in the Netherlands are probably VOF De Kunst – Eén kopje koffie and Rita Corita – Koffie, koffie, lekker bakje koffie .
Depending on the moment you open the newspaper, coffee is bad for your health. The next day, it turns out to be good for your health again. I can’t quite keep up. I do know that there are days when no coffee is bad for my health, at least for others. On those days, nothing goes the way it should. The fuse is very short on such a day.
Coffee good for you?
Opinions on the (un)healthiness of coffee are quite divided. I’ve looked up some pros and cons. Some of them are quite far-fetched. Since I am not a doctor or researcher, of course, you cannot attach much value to this. And of course, it always depends on how much coffee you drink.
These positive effects are attributed to coffee:
- inhibits Alzheimer’s disease
- reduces the risk of Parkinson’s disease
- protects against diabetes
- may reduce cardiovascular disease
- makes you alert
- increases your speed and endurance
- reduces the risk of a stroke
- Coffee drinkers live longer
- positive effect on your mood
- helps against headaches
- makes you smarter
- contains essential nutrients
- a major source of antioxidants
- improves good cholesterol
- reduces inflammation in your body
- increases your metabolism and burns more fat
- stimulates muscle retention
- reduces muscle soreness after exercising
- supports your intestines and protects against constipation
Of course, ’every advantage has its disadvantage’:
- lightly addictive
- disrupts blood sugar levels
- causes sleep problems and melatonin imbalance
- Weight gain
- Too high cholesterol and arteriosclerosis
- affects stress and anxiety
- may increase the risk of depression
As you can see, sources don’t agree with each other. On one hand, it’s good for your mental well-being, on the other hand, it’s bad for your mental well-being. Which is it now?
