It’s 2022 – Let’s drink more coffee!

I am all for self-improvement, but I’m not the biggest fan of New Year’s resolutions.

Though a few people successfully keep their resolutions, 25 percent of people who set a resolution give up on it in the first week. Because you have a year to achieve a New Year’s resolution, you may set a big goal, like dropping 20 kilos, reading 100 novels or paying off debt. However, you can’t achieve these goals quickly, which hurts your motivation.

Rather set yourself smaller more meaningful goals. By setting daily or weekly goals, you may be able to make the small changes you need to see big results and give yourself a chance to score a fast, easy, meaningful win.

All of which leads us to coffee, and drinking more of it.

Why? Because study after study continues to suggest that it has significant long-term health benefits.

• Coffee is a powerful antioxidant
  Scientists have identified approximately 1 000 antioxidants in unprocessed coffee beans, and even more are produced during the roasting process. This gives coffee a higher antioxidant activity than the celebrity antioxidants, green tea and cocoa!Antioxidants keep us free from inflammation and disease by protecting our cells from damage. By controlling inflammation in the body, we can prevent diseases such as arthritis, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer.
• Caffeine keeps you heart-healthy
   Modest coffee drinkers have a 20% lower risk of heart disease than those that drink too much coffee, or do not   drink coffee at all (say whaaat!) The anti-inflammatory response of the antioxidants support heart health.
• Coffee provides a short-term memory boost
  Those of us that “cannot function” before that morning cuppa will understand this one! Caffeine provides a temporary boost to brain activity, memory, and concentration. The duration of this so-called memory boost may vary from person to person.
• Coffee may protect against mental decline
  Research has found the drinking 3-4 cups of coffee during one’s midlife led to a significant decrease in the risk of developing Dementia or Alzheimer’s later in life.
• Coffee may lower your risk of developing certain cancers
  Researchers have found that regular coffee drinkers have a smaller incidence of prostate, endometrial, liver, colon, breast, and rectal cancers. Antioxidant polyphenols found in coffee are thought to help reduce the inflammation responsible for some tumours.
• Coffee can enhance your workout
  Caffeine is a performance and endurance enhancer and helps to fight fatigue and strengthen muscle contraction.
• Coffee lowers liver enzyme levels in the blood
  Elevated liver enzyme levels in the blood reflect inflammation and liver damage. Increased coffee consumption (4 cups) leads to decreased risk of Cirrhosis of the liver.
• Coffee may lower your risk of Type 2 Diabetes
  This is achieved by helping the body use insulin and protecting insulin-producing cells, thus enabling effective regulation of blood sugar. Also, caffeine is anti-inflammatory, and inflammation is a known risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
• Coffee lowers your risk of developing gout
  The antioxidants in coffee lower insulin levels, which in turn lower uric acid levels which, in high concentrations, can cause gout.
• Coffee makes you happy!
  Caffeine activates neurotransmitters that control mood, including dopamine and serotonin. Researchers have linked coffee drinking to lower rates of depression and moodiness.

In our enthusiasm, we should add a cautionary note: Stop at four cups a day. Once you get past that, according to a study of nearly 350,000 coffee drinkers from the University of South Australia, you might start to increase the risk of heart disease.

Now, back to the New Year and those resolutions …. Let’s start the new year with a resolution you can actually keep! As new habits go, resolving to drink a bit more coffee is certainly quite achievable …. and enjoyable!

So, here’s to 2022! I’ll raise my cappuccino to that!