The magical black liquid that changes lives
Coffee: good, bad, or great?
In my life, I have had a strange relationship with everyone’s favorite magical black liquid.
Until about two years ago, I never touched coffee. As a rowdy youth with undiagnosed ADHD, I never had the need or the desire for more energy and alertness. I found it weird that coffee smelled better than it tasted. (Of course, now that I drink it daily, my opinion on the taste has shifted, but the smell is still next-level.)
Coffee is also an excellent laxative, and if you know me (very) well, pooping is the last thing I need help doing. Add cream to a fresh cup, and all I see is liquid that’s destined to go out looking the same as when it came in.
Additionally, I have always been very against dependence on anything. I hate the “don’t talk to me before my coffee” attitude. It’s the morning; you need to wake the fuck up, regardless of whether you’ve drank what is mostly hot water.
So what changed?
Well a friend gave me some delicious coffee that I could drink black and enjoy. Turns out I like very dark, black coffee. I didn’t know that for a while, because all the coffee I grew up around was “light” or “blond”—varieties whose taste and body I’d best describe as tainted tap water.
Now, instead of avoiding coffee like the plague, I spend every morning reveling in the 15 minutes I can sit by myself, quietly breathing in that wonderful aroma and drinking deep from the well of warm feelings. (Haha)
But enough of my personal biases. What is the deal with coffee? Is it good for you? Will it help me better my life, look good naked, or lift heavy things?
Here’s the deal: overall, black coffee is big a win for three reasons:
1) Black coffee is the best natural pre-workout drink there is. In most pre-workout drinks, caffeine is the only ingredient worth a damn. Coffee has it, without any additional garbage mixed in to make it taste like fruity pebbles.
2) Caffeine is an appetite suppressant. The easiest and simplest way to lose weight will always be to eat less, and coffee can help you do that.
3) Drinking coffee could potentially reduce your risk of a number of ailments. Coffee consumption has been linked to lowering your risk of type 2 diabetes, some forms of cancer, and even Parkinson’s disease. I wouldn’t start chugging java as a form of preventive medicine, though; correlation does not imply causation.
I know what you are thinking: “Jake, all those things sound wonderful. I should start drinking coffee on the reg.” And yeah, as long as you aren’t a pregnant woman or an insomniac, I say go for it.
One thing to keep in mind, though: I always recommend caution with any substance that has withdrawal symptoms, which caffeine does. Caffeine withdrawal is no joke. The most common symptoms are moodiness and headaches, which should go away in 48 hours but can last up to a week for the hardcore drinkers.
Now that we are past my little PSA, go forth and enjoy your coffee but save the cream and sugar for dessert.
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