Is coffee good for you?

Where does coffee come from?

Believed to have originated in Ethiopia, coffee was used in the Middle East in the 16th century to aid concentration

There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans. The story goes that that Kaldi discovered coffee after he noticed that after eating the berries from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic that they did not want to sleep at night.

Coffee beans come from the coffee plant, a bush-like plant which can get very tall (coffee farmers will usually keep them trimmed to around 5ft to keep them manageable). On these coffee plants, bunches of cherries grow and it’s inside these that you’ll find two coffee beans.

What does coffee do?

Caffeine helps you stay awake by connecting to adenosine receptors in the brain without activating them. This blocks the effects of adenosine, leading to reduced tiredness. It may also increase blood adrenaline levels and increase brain activity of the neurotransmitters dopamine and norepinephrine.

What is adenosine? 

In the brain adenosine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter. This means, adenosine can act as a central nervous system depressant. In normal conditions, it promotes sleep and suppresses arousal. When awake the levels of adenosine in the brain rise each hour.

Adenosine is produced by the degradation of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the molecule that serves as the “energy currency” for the body’s various cellular functions. The amount of adenosine produced in the brain thus reflects the activity level of its neurons and glial cells.

Adenosine is created naturally within the body from the combination adenine, a nitrogen-based substance, and ribose, a sugar. In addition to being a neurotransmitter, adenosine is classified as a chemical known as a xanthine. Every cell in the body contains some adenosine contained within DNA and RNA.

Adenosine is a naturally occurring substance that relaxes and dilates blood vessels. Adenosine also affects the electrical activity of the heart. Adenosine is used to help restore normal heartbeats in people with certain heart rhythm disorders. Adenosine is also used during a stress test of the heart.

When cells in a certain part of the brain become overworked, a compound in the brain kicks in, telling them to shut down. This causes people to become drowsy and fall asleep. Alter that natural process by adding coffee or tea, and the brain compound – called adenosine – is blocked, and people stay awake.

Why is adenosine important? 

In the body, adenosine helps in cellular energy transfer by forming molecules like adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Adenosine also plays a role in signalling various pathways and functions in the body by forming signally molecules like cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).

What is a neurotransmitter? 

Neurotransmitters are often referred to as the body’s chemical messengers. They are the molecules used by the nervous system to transmit messages between neurons, or from neurons to muscles. … A neurotransmitter influences a neuron in one of three ways: excitatory, inhibitory or modulatory.

What are the benefits of feeling tired?

Being tired is your body telling you that need to rest. There are so many benefits to rest. Sleep and rest is essential for functioning at a high level.

They promote mental health, boost creativity, increase productivity, promote well-being, reduce stress, improve mood, and strengthen relationships. The amount of rest required depends on your individual needs. If you didn’t sleep well, feel angry, or stressed, you may require more frequent breaks.

The negative effect of coffee?

You can become addicted, you can need more dose to get the same effect.

Is coffee good for you?

You need to be careful when you are making changes to your brain. We don’t really understand how the brain works, so is it good for you? We don’t really know, we only know based on observing behaviour. It has positive and negative impacts.

One way we can learn by observing behaviour is to look at different extremes. What happens if someone has some kind of problem with adenosine? What happens if they overdose on coffee? What happens if there are twins – one drinks coffee, one doesn’t?

Just because it is natural it doesn’t mean it is good for you. There are many natural things that are bad for you – such as opium, and poisonous mushrooms.

When consumed in moderation, coffee can be very good for your brain. In the short-term, it may improve mood, vigilance, learning and reaction time. Long-term use may protect against brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Coffee containing caffeine can cause insomnia, nervousness and restlessness, stomach upset, nausea and vomiting, increased heart and breathing rate, and other side effects. Caffeinated coffee is POSSIBLY UNSAFE when taken by mouth for a long time or in high doses (more than 4 cups per day).

The effects of caffeine can build up over time and lead to measurable changes in the brain: If you’re blocking adenosine receptors with caffeine over the long term, this can result in “adaptive changes and lead to chronic alterations of receptor expression and availability,” the authors write

Due to caffeine’s effect on your brain, high coffee intake may result in dependence or addiction

Is caffeine a case of being good in the short term and bad in the long term?

Is it bad for you because it affects the brain? Every food and drink has some kind of effect on the body.

My Conclusion

I am still unsure about coffee and want to study it more. Coffee has positive and negative effects. It seems like the positive effects are short term, and the negative effects are long term – such as being addicted. It is essential to make sure that you are getting enough rest to perform at your best, and listen to the body. If you become addicted to coffee or coffee impacts your ability to get real rest then it is bad for you. Maybe it is good in moderation.

I also think that its better to have coffee with milk to make it less acidic and to not darken your teeth. I also think its more important to exercise and eat well, and have days without coffee so you can feel the benefits more.