Coffee not only wakes you up with a caffeine hit, but it is also loaded with antioxidants. One cup has 200-500 milligrams of various antioxidants that help your body lower inflammation, reduce your risk of chronic disease and help to stabilize free radicals. That makes coffee healthy and here are some healthier types of coffee. For example, a light roast coffee has more antioxidants than a dark roast. Here are some other tips to get the most out of the antioxidants in your cup of coffee:
Hot vs Cold Brewed:
Hot coffee has more antioxidants than cold brewed because the beans need the heat to extract the antioxidant. However, if you want a good caffeine hit, a cold brew is stronger. Cold brew is also lower in acid so if you suffer from acid reflux this is the best option.
Hot-Brewed and Black = Healthiest:
One cup of hot, black coffee has virtually no calories, no fat, is low in sodium, and has micronutrients including potassium, magnesium, and niacin. Adding sugar or sweeteners (flavoured syrups) will add fat and calories. One pump of flavouring at a coffee shop adds about one teaspoon of sugar.
Milky Coffee Drinks:
Lush milky coffee drinks has sweetened condensed milk, heavy whipping cream, or whole milk, and often comes with whipped cream on top. This can add over 100 calories per ounce of added dairy. If you really need that specialty coffee, go for a small size instead of large or medium.
Go for Organic:
Coffee beans are one of the most heavily sprayed crops in the world. The washing or roasting process removes most of the pesticides but not all. Buying organic coffee will dramatically cut down on chemicals you consume.
Avoid an Egg Coffee:
An egg coffee, also known as a Swedish or Vietnamese coffee, is made by beating an egg with sweetened condensed milk and added to expresso or iced coffee. Since it is has sweetened condensed milk, it adds many calories into your drink. Eating a raw egg can expose you to salmonella too.
Mushroom Coffee:
Despite its name, mushroom coffee does not contain mushrooms. It is regular coffee with a mushroom extract added to it. The mushroom extract tends to come from lion’s mane, chana, cordyceps, or reishi mushrooms. Mushroom coffee provides less caffeine and double the amount of antioxidants than a regular coffee. This coffee tends to be very healthy, as long as you do not load it down with cream or sugar.
Vitamin Coffee:
Vitamin coffee sounds like a great thing. Get your coffee and a shot of vitamins at the same time. Problem is coffee is a diuretic, so the water-soluble nutrients you may get from the vitamins are quickly peed out. As well, coffee hinders your body’s absorption of minerals such as zinc, calcium, and iron. You are best to take your vitamins an hour before or after your cup of coffee.
