Spice up your coffee for better health
 |
| Turmeric is rich in curcumin, a powerful antioxidant. |
But coffee doesn’t just help you shake off the early morning sleepiness; it also has several health benefits.
The good news doesn’t end there either! You can make your morning brew even more wholesome by adding a teaspoon of something extra.
While many rarely bother with more than a dash of milk or a spoonful of
sugar, plenty of alternatives will give you a health boost and satisfy your
taste buds.
Turmeric
In recent years, turmeric has become the go-to
for healthy spices as it is rich in a compound called curcumin. This molecule
is a powerful antioxidant that helps reduce inflammation and is associated with
reducing the effect of many health issues.[1]
If you want to add it to your coffee, you should
probably add a small amount of healthy fat, such as coconut or almond milk, as
this helps the body absorb the curcumin. If you can tolerate the taste, a pinch
of black pepper will also boost curcumin uptake and improve the nutritional
value.
Cinnamon
 |
| Cinnamon may help boost your immune system and lower your cancer risk. |
Studies suggest that a regular
serving of cinnamon can help lower cancer risk[2] and boost
your immune system.[3]
If you drink granulated coffee, you could create a mix by combining a teaspoon of cinnamon powder with a teaspoon of coffee.
If
you use a coffee machine or brew your own, stir half a teaspoon into your cuppa
to give you all the benefits you need.
Maca
 |
| Maca is highly nutritious with wide-ranging health benefits. It may even help boost your athletic performance and sex drive. |
Studies suggest that it helps in athletic
performance and sex drive[4] and
contains many essential amino acids that
your body can not synthesize.
It’s best to aim for around two teaspoons of maca powder a day to give you the most benefits.
Although, be warned! It has
quite an earthy taste, so you may want to spread the maca out evenly throughout
the day.
Cacao
Raw cacao powder isn’t just delicious; it is
highly nutritious, a powerful antioxidant, and has considerable health
benefits. Research suggests that it can help lower blood pressure and
cholesterol[5] while also having anti-depressive properties
that can help regulate mood.[6] Add that
to the mouthwatering chocolatey taste, and you have the perfect coffee
companion.
The recommendation is to get one tablespoon of
cacao a day which could be overwhelming in a single cup. Instead, spread it out
between cups, and you’ll be drinking healthy, delicious coffee all day long!
Ginger
Ginger is a great way to spice up your morning
cuppa. It tastes great and has plenty of health benefits to boot, with studies
suggesting that it can treat nausea and muscle pain[7] and
help to lower cholesterol.[8]
It can be tricky to add to your coffee as it
doesn’t dissolve as readily as the other suggestions. You could get a packet of
ground ginger and sprinkle half a teaspoon into your coffee, but for the most
benefits, fresh ginger is best. It can be time-consuming, but if you finely
chop or grate a teaspoon of raw ginger into your coffee, you will get the most
benefits and the best taste infusion.
It’s hard to think that your morning cup of
coffee could get any better! However, you can get even more benefits by adding
one or more of the five ingredients above to your cuppa. If you don’t like the
taste of these suggestions, they are still great additions to your diet
somewhere else. But if you can get them into your routine, you can double the
benefits your cuppa brings.
References:
- “Therapeutic
Roles of Curcumin: Lessons Learned from Clinical Trials” by Subash C.
Gupta, Sridevi Patchva and Bharat B. Aggarwal, 10 November 2012, The AAPS Journal.
DOI: 10.1208/s12248-012-9432-8 - “Mechanisms,
clinically curative effects, and antifungal activities of cinnamon oil and
pogostemon oil complex against three species of Candida” by Gang-sheng
WANG, Jie-hua DENG, Yao-hui MA, Min SHI and Bo LI, 24 April 2012, Journal of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
DOI: 10.1016/S0254-6272(12)60026-0 - “Cinnamaldehyde
induces apoptosis by ROS-mediated mitochondrial permeability transition in
human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells” by Hyeon Ka, Hee-Juhn Park,
Hyun-Ju Jung, Jong-Won Choi, Kyu-Seok Cho, Joohun Ha and Kyung-Tae Lee, 25
May 2003, Cancer Letters.
DOI: 10.1016/S0304-3835(03)00238-6 - “A
pilot investigation into the effect of maca supplementation on physical
activity and sexual desire in sportsmen” by Mark Stone, Alvin Ibarra, Marc
Roller, Andrea Zangara and Emma Stevenson, 23 September 2009, Journal of Ethnopharmacology.
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.09.012 - “Chocolate
and Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease: A Systematic Review” by Eric L
Ding, Susan M Hutfless, Xin Ding and Saket Girotra, 3 January 2006, Nutrition & Metabolism.
DOI: 10.1186/1743-7075-3-2 - “Cocoa
flavanol consumption improves cognitive function, blood pressure control,
and metabolic profile in elderly subjects: the Cocoa, Cognition, and Aging
(CoCoA) Study—a randomized controlled trial” by Daniela Mastroiacovo, Catherine
Kwik-Uribe, Davide Grassi, Stefano Necozione, Angelo Raffaele, Luana
Pistacchio, Roberta Righetti, Raffaella Bocale, Maria Carmela Lechiara,
Carmine Marini, Claudio Ferri and Giovambattista Desideri, 17 December
2014, The American Journal of Clinical
Nutrition.
DOI: 10.3945/ajcn.114.092189 - “Acute
effects of dietary ginger on muscle pain induced by eccentric exercise” by
Christopher D. Black and Patrick J. O’Connor, 28 October 2010, Phytotherapy Research.
DOI: 10.1002/ptr.3148 - “Investigation
of the effect of ginger on the lipid levels. A double blind controlled
clinical trial” by Reza Alizadeh-Navaei, Fatemeh Roozbeh, Mehrdad Saravi,
Mehdi Pouramir, Farzad Jalali and Ali A Moghadamnia, September 2008, Saudi Medical Journal.
PMID: 18813412
