Gourmet coffee is imbibed by a gigantic number of people around the globe. From adolescent to old, it is a favorite addition to conversation and perhaps the morning breakfast. Coffee is known to contain the habituating substance caffeine, which is a type of stimulant and is widely known to increase both well-being and overall alertness. Coffee and caffeine’s characteristics, however, aren’t limited to only mental state and wakefulness, but also cross into other domains as well.
As a matter of fact, caffeine has been shown to increase a weightlifters endurance on movements like the squat, and can also enhance aerobic endurance. This fitness output enhancement effect may have something to do with the manipulation of the body’s physiological output through means such as insulin and glucose. Wouldn’t it be great to hit the gym and magically increase your lifts? This strength and endurance enhancing effect most likely exists only in the fitness junkies who are not yet addicted to coffee.
Coffee has also been shown to decrease the overall risk of stroke in women, which is great news for women of Hispanic ethnicity who unfortunately suffer from the highest stroke rates relative to any other ethnic group. Other coffee research studies have demonstrated that caffeine probably even helps stop the death of dopamine producing neurons which is known to cause the devastating disease known as Parkinson’s disease. This hasn’t yet been totally proven in homosapiens sapiens, however.
Coffee beans have a number of antioxidants which are produced during the Maillard reaction, which is the chemical process that happens during the bean roasting. Antioxidants in general are good for you, and are very high in white tea. The fact that tea and coffee have antioxidants is notable to fitness junkies, because lifting weights induces oxidative damage. This oxidative damage occurs as a consequence of a surge of reactive oxygen species known as ROS.
A quick word of caution about coffee as a fitness enhancer, however. While caffeine may increase athletic performance, and may have certain positive characteristics it is also, unfortunately, associated with the development of a type of heart arrhythmia called atrial fibrillation. Atrial fibrillation can cause a shortness of breath when experiencing periods of exertion, which is of course the exact 180 degree opposite of what the average runner desires.
Thanks for taking the necessary time to run your eyes over this article. Perhaps you would be interested in checking out a few of my other creative works: Gourmet Coffee Beans and Growth Hormone Lifespan.