The Perks of Being A Coffee-Addict

I am a coffee addict. Never did I think that one day I would like, no, need coffee the way I do now. Especially not when I had my first cuppa, but nowadays I am almost unable to get out of bed without knowing that I will have a good cup of coffee.*

But there are certain stigmata and urban legends, upsides and downsides to coffee; high bloodpressure, heart diseases, and headaches are just a few medical problems linked to coffee. At the same time, coffee is said to boost your performance – physically and mentally, to boost your metabolism and to help prevent diabetes and different forms of cancer. But what is the truth about coffee?

What about all the fat and calories you consume due to your coffee habit?

A few weeks ago one of my classmates asked me if I was worried about all the fat I was consuming with my coffee. And oh man, the calories, there have to be loads of calories in something as good as coffee. This got me researching – and now writing – about the perks of being a coffee addict. And this is why I am going to start this little article with the nutritional facts.
First of all: No, I am not worried about “all that fat”, because a normal cup of coffee only has as much as 0,05g fat, about 9 kcal and 108mg of caffeine.
The carb- and fat fest only starts when you add milk, cream, sugar, flavoured syrups etc. to your coffee. Though adding some milk to your coffee does not make it high-calorie, either. A cup of coffee with a tablespoon fat free milk has 10 kcal, with 2% milk about 15 kcal. This means, from a calorie point of view, you are okay, as long as you go with a normal cup of joe and not the Starbucks (or coffee shop of your choice’s) calorie fest Extra Grande Caffee Latte Caramel Cream with chocolate sprinkles.


Ups…

One of the most obvious upsides of coffee is the 10-15% boost in your performance during a workout. This boost is due to the fact that caffeine keeps you from getting tired as fast and works as a mild analgetic (pain killer), meaning you can push yourself a little further before you start feeling sore.
Coffee also helps you concentrate, because the caffeine intercepts adenosine, the chemical that slows down your nerves and messages the need to sleep. At the same time, though, it stimulates your brain’s pleasure center by increasing the levels of the feel-good-hormone dopamine. Thus coffee makes you feel alert AND relaxed at the same time.

Good news for women: coffee also contains anti-aging anti-oxidants, quinines, that get even more potent after roasting.
Also, coffee helps ward of mental decline, Parkinson’s disease, high blood pressure, certain cancers and even extra pounds.
Every cup of coffee slashes your risk of diabetes by 7% (according to another study, 4+ cups a day cut your diabetes risk by 2/3), and 2-3 cups a day promise a 21% lower risk for heart diseases. The caffeine in coffee also helps reduce headaches and migraine (but remember that moderation is the key, otherwise you get headaches, your heartrate increases and you can be affected by insomnia).
Trigonelline, an anti-bacterial compound found in coffee, prevents dental caries. Chromium helps the body to use insuline more efficiently. And coffee releases stored fatty acids that fuel ATP-production and give you an extra kick during your workout and help your recovery.


…and Downs

But there are also certain downsides. One of the most common ones is probably the tolerance you can develop to caffeine; this means withdrawal symptoms like headaches and irritability (well, you should not talk to me before my first coffee, so I guess this is true). The more coffee you drink, the more severe the withdrawal symptoms.
Caffeine has also been linked to inflammation that might cause heart disease and diabetes. This still does not mean that caffeine actually causes the inflammation.
You can get heartburn from coffee, especially if you have a stomach that gets easily upset, you may get the jitters if you get too much coffee. And, well, coffee has a slightly diuretic effect.
“Slow metabolizers” should be careful, because they break down caffeine at a slower rate than normal people and so these slow metabolizers have a greater risk of heart disease. Normal people, however, have no problems, in their case the health benefits outweigh the risks.
Also, studies have shown that coffee, or rather caffeine, does not cause heart diseases in normal people, it might, however, trigger them in people who are already at risk for these.


And urban legends

Even though people still insist that long term consumption may lead to severe health problems, studies have shown that this is not the case. Another study has actually found out the reasons behind this assumption; smokers break down caffeine twice as fast as normal people, making them drink more coffee in turn and the health damages actually caused by their smoking are partly (and wrongly) attributed to their coffee consumption.
Even though coffee does not cause high blood pressure, it can increase the risk of arrhythmia in those prone to it and exacerbates existing conditions.
Coffee does not lead to bone loss. If you still fear it, pour a little milk into your coffee and you make up for the minimal loss of calcium.
And the last fun urban legend: you cannot overdose on coffee. You would die of the amount of consumed liquid before you even get to drink half as much caffeine needed to give yourself a caffeine poisoning. Well, isn’t that a relief?


So, in moderation, coffee s actually healthy, but what is the right dosage? Most studies and experts say that you can get about 250mg caffeine/day before you develop a dependency. This equals about two cups of normal coffee, but everyone is different, so you should just listen to your body and what it tells you.
But in the end, there are worse things to be addicted to. :)

*(it’s incredibly hard to get good coffee in Finland. I don’t mean to insult anyone, but I had to try out about 14 different blends of coffee and uncountable coffee shops before I finally found Finnish coffee that suited my German taste in coffee. Nowadays I’m either buying German coffee in bulk and importing it, or I head to Arnolds, a local coffee shop chain, and get their house blend.)

if you want to know where I got my data or just read more on the subject, here's the link list:
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/the-benefits-of-coffee
http://www.womenshealthmag.com/nutrition/coffee-benefitshttp://www.womenshealthmag.com/health/caffeine-effects
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/your-daily-cup-coffee-may-be-linked-longer-lifespan
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/real-deal-coffee
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/why-coffee-and-tea-super-good-you
http://www.shape.com/blogs/shape-your-life/long-term-coffee-drinks-reduce-endometrial-cancer-risk-third
http://www.livestrong.com/article/271895-coffee-fat-cells/#ixzz2Nc6OEjz6
http://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/food/coffee/fat

Tabata, or: I'm about to puke...oh wait, I'm not.

Today I've been to my second Tabata-class ever. And it was like death in 20sec portions once again.
The main idea of Tabata is to get a high intensity interval training (HIIT) in a half hour. So you're doing one move for 20secs, rest for 10secs and repeat this 7 more times. Afterwards you get a minute's rest and then you're going on to the next move. All in all you're doing 5x8 20sec-cycles. It's... intense, as the first "I" in HIIT tells you.
The first three cycles seem okay but the latest in cycle five your muscles start to tire and it gets harder and harder. Try it with a simple move as a burpee. It feels like 20secs death during these last few cycles. Or well, I suppose death feels nicer :D

What is Tabata?

Tabata is a popular workout used by celebrities and athletes alike. As I said before, you do one move eight times for 20sec. You give it all you got. In between rounds you get to rest 10sec. After you finished the 8th round, you move on to the next move. This workout is proven to burn more fat during and after training than other, moderate group fitness classes, because your body can't get into energy saving mode.

Tabata is designed to overcome oneself and to improve one's cardio-vascular fitness and muscle fitness. It has been designed by Japanese researcher Izumi Tabata, when he compared the results of moderate and high intensity training. Even though the moderate intensity group trained five times a week for an hour and the high intensity group four times a week for 4min (!), the first group only improved their cardio-vascular fitness, whereas the second group, in spite of having trained less than the first group, had improved their strength and cardio-vascular fitness. So, the result of the research was that HIIT produced better results for athletes.

The idea of HIIT is that your training lasts 20 minutes or less (not counting warm-up), you use big muscle groups and do compound moves (using more than one muscle group at once). BUT: to reap real results, you have to really push yourself or you need a trainer that kicks your butt, so you don't turn down the intensity.
The feeling afterwards is great, you feel energized and happy thanks to the "runner's high", even though the training itself might feel like hell. So, it's really worth it!