If you have been keeping up with the latest health news, then you undoubtedly have heard that researchers are now saying coffee is good for you. Well, I say, good for us! One of my favorite drinks is coffee, and now I can enjoy it guilt free!
The goodness from coffee comes from the darkness of the bean. All dark fruits (i.e. cherries, blueberries, red grapes, blackberries, etc.) are better for you than the light-skinned ones, and the same good qualities that those dark fruits bear are what makes the coffee bean so healthy: antioxidants.
Antioxidants are substances that help to protect our bodies cells against the effects of free radicals, which are molecules produced when your body breaks down food, or by environmental exposures like tobacco smoke and radiation. Free radicals damage cells, and are thought to be a major component in causing such problems as heart disease, cancer, and other diseases. Antioxidant substances include beta-carotene, lutein, lycopene, selenium, and vitamins A, C and E.
My grandmother passed at the ripe old age of 105 years old. She drank dark, boiled-on-the-stove coffee all her life. Her recipe for coffee-making was to put a small, aluminum coffeepot filled with water and a basket holding coarse ground coffee on the burner and boil it for 10 minutes or so. The result was one hot pot of strong, powerful, dark juice! So hot, in fact, you had to wait a while to take the first sip! Ah, coffee in the old days.
There were many days before she passed that I sat and enjoyed a cup with her. However, we had ground coffee vacuum-pushed through a Mr. Coffee drip coffee maker. But she never said anything about the way it was made. She lived in an assisted living residence for so long that she had long forgotten what she used to make. Anyway, she never suffered any heart or other major health ailments. Case in point – I’m drinking that coffee!
Tea has been proven to be healthy for you, too, because it’s also chock-full of antioxidants. There are so many different flavors and brands on the market nowadays that you should have no problem finding one that suits your taste.
Studies have now shown that tea might be better for you because it also contains something that fights nasty bacterial infections. Specifically, an amino acid called L-theanine. L-theanine boosts immune responses to bacteria, including the ones that cause gut-wrenching food poisoning. Seems coffee doesn’t contain this amino acid.
Also, early research suggests that 50 mg of L-theanine naturally stimulates activity in the brain known as alpha waves, which are associated with a relaxed but alert mental state. Nic-e-e-e!
The Black, green, or oolong teas all provide a pumped-up dose of L-theanine, along with all the other heart and cancer fighting punches. Even though tea is lower in caffeine than coffee, it still provides almost as much pick-me-up as a can of soda.
Well, that’s all good, but do you want to know what’s even better? How about adding honey to that cup of tea to sweeten it? However, not just any honey will do! Several studies have found that buckwheat honey, a dark, rich, and malty-tasting honey, has a higher number of age-fighting antioxidants. (Once again, the darker, the better!)
Some say Buckwheat honey is similar to molasses in flavor, and has a malty, lingering aftertaste. The buckwheat plant is an excellent honey source, sometimes planted by beekeepers specifically for honey production. The blossoms are rich in nectar and blooming sometimes continues on into the fall.
Since more than 150 pounds of sugar are consumed by each U.S. citizen annually; if honey was substituted for traditional sweeteners, it could significantly improve our antioxidant intake. And quite possible, our trips to the doctor!