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Why Do People Like Black Coffee
About black coffee, is black coffee good or bad, and why people choose to drink it without milk or cream.
Published March 25, 2022
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Jennie Backteman
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
Black coffee is one of those drinks that most people either love or hate. But why do people like black coffee? While drinking it might take a little bit of getting used to, there are plenty of black coffee benefits compared to coffee that is served with milk or cream and sugar. What does drinking black coffee do? If you are wondering, is black coffee good, or what are the biggest black coffee benefits, some of the main benefits from drinking black coffee that you can enjoy include diabetes prevention, weight loss, and improved mood.
Is black coffee good for you and should you drink more of it? Is black coffee healthy? There are lots of benefits of skipping the additions to your coffee and drinking it plain instead.
Why Some People Like Black Coffee
The truth is that adding milk or cream and sugar could strip your daily coffee of lots of great health benefits. Many people have discovered that drinking black coffee is a great way to improve their vitality, health, and productivity. Some of the main things to consider when it comes to what does black coffee do include:
Fewer Calories
If you are watching your calorie consumption and want to lose weight, black coffee has a very small number of calories, making it a great beverage to enjoy if you want to reduce your calories each day and consume less sugar and fat to lose weight. Adding cream or milk and sugar to the coffee turns it into an entirely different drink, adding fat, sugar, and calories. If you use creamer, a serving of a half-and-half variety has around forty calories and 3.5g of fat, while a teaspoon of sugar adds a huge 4.2g of carbs to your drink. Unfortunately for people who add cream or milk and sugar to several cups of coffee throughout the day, this means that you could be consuming more calories than you think. On the other hand, black coffee on its own has around one or two calories and is generally considered to be a healthy beverage that is fat-free.
Better Taste
Not everybody who enjoys black coffee will drink it like this because of health reasons. Some people drink black coffee because they just prefer the real and unaltered taste of the coffee. Many coffee enthusiasts consider it to be strange to indulge in their favorite beverage only when it’s been diluted and changed by adding milk and sugar to it. Lots of people who appreciate high-quality and specialty coffee will prefer drinking it black as in their opinion, this is the best way to really savor the different flavor notes. People who enjoy their coffee strong and bitter will often drink it black, as they don’t want to cover up the true taste and qualities of the coffee bean.
Better Caffeine Fix
For some people, getting a quick caffeine boost is the most important thing about drinking coffee. For these coffee drinkers, black coffee is often the best option since it provides an instant caffeine boost without much hassle. When coffee is black, you can usually drink a smaller cup, as you’re consuming pure coffee rather than coffee that has been mixed with fats, which makes it quicker to drink and get your morning energy when you are in a rush.
Save Money
If you prepare your coffee at home, black coffee can be a cheaper way to enjoy your favorite brew. The cost of adding creamer or milk and sugar can quickly add up. If you drink a lot of coffee, then it’s not uncommon to be able to go through a full container of creamer in just one week.
Health Benefits of Black Coffee
One of the most obvious health benefits of choosing to drink black coffee rather than coffee with creamer or milk and sugar is that there are fewer calories in this beverage. However, this is just the beginning. There is a lot of evidence to suggest that drinking black coffee offers several benefits for your health and wellbeing, which you might actually reduce when you add milk or cream and sugar.
Black coffee is considered to be better for you since coffee is so rich in antioxidants. When you ingest a concentrated serving of black coffee that hasn’t had cream and sugar added to it, then you are getting a better availability of these antioxidants. Some of the main health and wellbeing benefits that you will be able to enjoy when you drink your coffee black include:
Reduced Diabetes Risk
Studies have found that drinking black coffee can help to reduce your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Whether or not you are at risk of diabetes, this is definitely a great reason to consider drinking it. The average coffee drinker can actually see their risk of developing this condition drop by around 7% for each cup of coffee they drink per day.
Better Liver Health
A cup of black coffee can be one of the best things for improving your liver health. If you are interested in detoxification with natural foods and beverages, black coffee can be a great addition to your diet. In fact, studies have found that drinking around 24oz of black coffee on a daily basis can reduce your risk of developing liver cancer by up to a huge 40%.
Improve Weight Loss
Black coffee can be an ideal alternative to coffee with milk or cream if you want to lose weight, simply because the calorie content is much lower compared to coffee with these additions. Along with this, there is no additional fat or carbohydrates in the coffee compared to drinking coffee with cream or milk and sugar present. However, that is not the only way that taking your coffee black can help with losing weight. Research has found that black coffee can actually provide a metabolism boost, improving your metabolic rate by as much as 11% and increasing fat burning by between 10-29%.
Improve Your Mood
Studies have found that drinking black coffee can actually be an ideal way to improve your mood. This is because the caffeine fix that you will get when you drink a cup of black coffee will increase dopamine release in your brain. Known as the ‘pleasure’ chemical, dopamine will increase feelings of satisfaction and happiness while helping to keep feelings of depression at bay.
Better Brain Function
Drinking black coffee can be a great way to improve your brain health and function. You may already know that caffeine is a natural stimulant, but do you know how that can impact your brain function in a positive way?
Whenever you drink a cup of coffee, the caffeine is absorbed into your bloodstream before it travels to your brain, where it blocks inhibitory neurotransmitters known as adenosine. As a result of this, performance-boosting neurotransmitters such as norepinephrine are increased. Research has found that black coffee can cause mood, energy levels, memory, and reaction time improvements in brain function. When you drink black coffee, this can also improve the positive reaction to caffeine in your brain as the dosage that you get is more concentrated and direct. When you drink black coffee regularly, it can even reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease by a massive 65% and reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 60%.
How to Switch to Black Coffee
Now that you know more about all the different benefits of taking your coffee plain and black, you might understand more about why people choose to drink it this way. You may even be feeling inspired to switch to drinking your coffee black more often yourself. When you are used to making your coffee sweet and light with cream and sugar, however, switching to black coffee isn’t always easy. The good news is that with some simple steps, you can make it easier for your taste buds to adjust and grow to enjoy black coffee.
Making a straight switch isn’t always the best option since this is likely to shock your taste buds and you’ll want to add milk right away. The best way to switch to drinking more black coffee is to gradually reduce the amount of cream and sugar that you have in your coffee. If you like your coffee sweet, then consider reducing the amount of sugar first, and get used to drinking it with just milk before gradually reducing the amount of milk that you add. Over time, your body and taste buds will get used to it as you gradually adjust to a darker cup of coffee. Choose higher-quality coffee for black coffee, too since cream and sugar can be very good at hiding poor-quality coffee and you will definitely miss it if your coffee is cheap. You can also use natural flavor options like vanilla extract if you want to add a little bit of sweetness to your black coffee without taking away from the health benefits.
While it can take some getting used to if you’re not a black coffee drinker, there are plenty of great benefits of having your coffee plain.
About the author
Jennie Backteman
I´m a ultramarathon runner, landscape designer and a coffee lover.
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