If you have stumbled across this blog, chances are you actually don’t need to be sold on coffee.
We'll list out some of the incredible benefits anyway:
It makes Mondays tolerable.
It helps us activate our ability to have conversations (and smile while doing so) in the mornings
.
It is literally a little cup of “you can do it”
It tastes like heaven.
Yep. We love coffee, and you probably do too. So this blog is less of a “here’s why you NEED to drink coffee” and more of a “congrats on drinking coffee, it is FANTASTIC for your health”. We have also included sources in case you’d like to do more reading. Let’s get to it!
1. Coffee is FULL of antioxidants
FUN FACT: Coffee is the main source of antioxidants for many people (particularly those who follow a Western diet).
We hear about antioxidants often, and we KNOW they are great. But why are they important, and what do they do?
Antioxidants are found in foods, and are produced by the body. They help to protect our bodies against free radicals (produced by the body when we break down food or are exposed to tobacco smoke & radiation). Free radicals damage our cells and are thought to play a role in cancer, heart disease, and other ailments.
In summary, antioxidants = important. Luckily, coffee is packed full of them.
2. May help you LIVE LONGER
There have been many studies that have linked coffee drinking to a lower risk of disease, meaning a lower risk of premature death. You can read more about this in the next point, but first, here are some statistics that’ll have you reaching for that Flow State Box.
One study suggested (looking at people over 18-24 years old) that coffee drinking was associated with a 20% reduced risk of death in men, and 26% in women! (1)
3. Coffee can reduce your risk of disease
Multiple studies have linked coffee drinking with lower risks of developing Type II diabetes, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and some Cancers. This seems like a very bold statement, so let’s look at the statistics on each of these separately.
Several studies have explored the link between coffee drinking and Type II Diabetes, the majority of which found that those who drank coffee had a 25-30% lower risk (2). One study found that each cup of coffee consumed each day was associated with a 7% lower risk of Type II Diabetes (3).
Multiple studies have shown a link between regular coffee consumption and a lower risk of Alzheimer’s disease, one study in particularly found a 65% lower risk (4).
Studies exploring the link between coffee drinking and Parkinson’s Disease showed a 32-60% lower risk. One study noted that smokers did not benefit from this lowered risk, and that caffeine seems to be the saviour here (as opposed to the antioxidants & nutrients in coffee), as decaf drinkers did not benefit either (5).
Coffee has been linked to a 40% risk of developing liver cancer (6) and a 15% lower risk of developing colorectal cancer (7). However, it is worth noting in the study exploring the link between coffee & colorectal cancer, this benefit was associated with those drinking 4-5 cups of coffee per day. We all have different tolerance levels when it comes to caffeine, so it is best to consult your GP before upping your caffein intake!
4. Boosts your physical performance
We all know that getting exercise each day is SO important for our health. In fact, this is the reason we added ingredients like Alpha GPC to our coffee - as it increases your athletic performance and power output!
BUT did you know that coffee, yes, just your humble cup of coffee, can increase your physical performance?
Caffeine stimulates your nervous system, which in turn tells your fat cells to being breaking down body fat. This frees up fatty acids for your body to use as fuel (8). Coffee also increases adrenaline levels in your body, helping you feel pumped and ready to smash out some goals whatever your choice of exercise is (9)!
5. Coffee makes us happy.
It’s no secret, sipping on our morning coffee definitely injects a little soul back into life. Life PC (Post Coffee) is just BETTER!
There may be a little placebo in that, there is something about coffee that just makes us feel like we are ready to take on the world, but studies have suggested some truth also.
A study conducted at Harvard suggested that women who drank coffee had a 20% lower risk of becoming Depressed (10).
There you go Flow State Fam, 5 more reasons to rip open that Flow State sachet and get sipping, as if you needed encouragement! The studies we looked at were focused around coffee and caffeine in its most basic form. We took those powerful magic beans and added our signature Superfoods & Nootropics formula to create Flow State Coffee, one delicious drink that is deceptively packed full of more benefits than we can count.
Get sipping guys #LESSSFLOW.
Here’s the sources, in case you wanted to break a mental sweat today.
1. Lopez-Garcia E, van Dam RM, Li TY, Rodriguez-Artalejo F, Hu FB. The relationship of coffee consumption with mortality. Ann Intern Med. 2008 Jun 17;148(12):904-14. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-148-12-200806170-00003. PMID: 18559841; PMCID: PMC3958951.
2. Odegaard AO, Pereira MA, Koh WP, Arakawa K, Lee HP, Yu MC. Coffee, tea, and incident type 2 diabetes: the Singapore Chinese Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008 Oct;88(4):979-85. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/88.4.979. PMID: 18842784; PMCID: PMC2737528.
3. Huxley R, Lee CM, Barzi F, Timmermeister L, Czernichow S, Perkovic V, Grobbee DE, Batty D, Woodward M. Coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and tea consumption in relation to incident type 2 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Arch Intern Med. 2009 Dec 14;169(22):2053-63. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2009.439. PMID: 20008687.
4. Santos C, Costa J, Santos J, Vaz-Carneiro A, Lunet N. Caffeine intake and dementia: systematic review and meta- analysis. J Alzheimers Dis. 2010;20 Suppl 1:S187-204. doi: 10.3233/JAD-2010-091387. PMID: 20182026.
5. Ross GW, Abbott RD, Petrovitch H, Morens DM, Grandinetti A, Tung KH, Tanner CM, Masaki KH, Blanchette PL,
Curb JD, Popper JS, White LR. Association of coffee and caffeine intake with the risk of Parkinson disease. JAMA. 2000 May 24-31;283(20):2674-9. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.20.2674. PMID: 10819950.
6. https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cancer
7. Sinha R, Cross AJ, Daniel CR, Graubard BI, Wu JW, Hollenbeck AR, Gunter MJ, Park Y, Freedman ND. Caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and tea intakes and risk of colorectal cancer in a large prospective study. Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Aug;96(2):374-81. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.111.031328. Epub 2012 Jun 13. PMID: 22695871; PMCID: PMC3396445.
8. Patwardhan RV, Desmond PV, Johnson RF, Dunn GD, Robertson DH, Hoyumpa AM Jr, Schenker S. Effects of caffeine on plasma free fatty acids, urinary catecholamines, and drug binding. Clin Pharmacol Ther. 1980 Sep;28(3):398-403. doi: 10.1038/clpt.1980.179. PMID: 7408399.
9. Anderson DE, Hickey MS. Effects of caffeine on the metabolic and catecholamine responses to exercise in 5 and 28 degrees C. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Apr;26(4):453-8. PMID: 8201901.
10. Lucas M, Mirzaei F, Pan A, Okereke OI, Willett WC, O'Reilly ÉJ, Koenen K, Ascherio A. Coffee, caffeine, and risk of depression among women. Arch Intern Med. 2011 Sep 26;171(17):1571-8. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2011.393. PMID: 21949167; PMCID: PMC3296361.
