Dubai Fitness Challenge is here! We want to be part of it and tell you a bit more about COFFEE and how amazing it could be (especially the one we brew at RAW) for your health.
Caffeine ranks as one of the topmost commonly consumed dietary ingredients throughout the world. It is naturally found in coffee beans, cacao beans, kola nuts, guarana berries, and tea leaves. Today, approximately 80% of the world's population consumes a caffeinated product every day.
Caffeine has been widely studied in a variety of areas regarding human health and performance. It is proven to increase physical endurance, reduce fatigue, enhance mental alertness and concentration, increase cognitive function, and elevate your mood.
Now a little info for you gym rats. You all love pre-workout powders. The main components that are typically found in them are: caffeine, creatine, amino acids, B vitamins and tons of artificial sweeteners so that it doesn’t taste horrible. The idea is that it gives you a powerful energy boost to kick start your activity and helps you to perform at your best.
Let’s look at coffee now. As you know, caffeine causes your heart to beat faster. This allows oxygen to travel around the body quicker for energy metabolism wherever it’s needed. It makes you feel unstoppable. Plus, so many good substances (we don’t want to be boring here) that will boost your body to another level. For sure someone smart will say: ‘coffee is dehydrating’. Caffeine IS, but coffee is 99,9% water and that counteracts it.
Psssst… small tips: take it after your workout to increase fat breakdown as well as muscle recovery and choose black coffee if you want to avoid extra calories.
But of course, caffeine is not all perfect. For adults consuming moderate amounts of coffee (3-4 cups/day providing 300-400 mg of caffeine), there is little evidence of health risks. However, some groups, including people with hypertension, children, adolescents, pregnant and the elderly may be more vulnerable to the adverse effects of caffeine.
People with panic and anxiety disorder seem to be particularly sensitive to the anxiogenic effects of caffeine. All because of “bad buddy” cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone produced in the body that makes you more alert, more focused, and raises blood pressure and metabolism. Cortisol levels rise just after waking up and peak a few hours after awakening. If you’re more vulnerable to the anxiety-inducing effects of caffeine, then delay your morning coffee so it doesn’t merge with a natural cortisol spike.
Or an even easier solution: go for Decaf! Again, someone very smart will say: methylene chloride may be present in decaf coffee as a residue from its use as a solvent in the extraction of caffeine from green coffee beans. Well, maybe. However here at RAW we use its natural brother Ethyl Acetate derived from sugar cane to remove 97% of the caffeine (which is the FDA requirement). Steam is then used to remove the residual solvent.
Last but very important! Caffeine is often an ingredient in sweetened beverages that may contribute to increased weight gain and dental cavities. We compare a Spanish latte, to say, a pizza with pineapple topping … not recommended but if it brings you joy, then you do you. You can also check our blog about non-dairy milk alternatives.
Come to RAW! We brew healthy coffee.
*This information is for educational purposes and you should always speak to a healthcare provider about your unique health needs.
