The United States is the world's largest importer of our beloved coffee beans. Since the Spanish brought coffee to Latin America, it has been spread all over the Americas and become a staple of our various cultures. Brazil is the modern world's coffee giant, producing one-third of the coffees in the world today. There is still much controversy over whether not we should be drinking as much of the brew as we do, with researchers pitting the pros against the cons of the beverage. There have been no serious health risks reported by the Food and Drug Administration when drinking two to three cups of coffee, which is considered a moderate amount.
Most people use the drink for it's ability to provide a boost in energy, which is caused by the naturally occurring caffeine. It's found in about 60 plants and acts as a stimulant to the body's nervous system. Our average cup of coffee usually has the highest concentration of caffeine, and is known commonly to cause hyperactivity following consumption. Overconsumption is known to cause jitters, nervousness, loss of sleep, stomach distress, and heart palpitations which is why some make anti-coffee arguments.
Although drinking excess amounts of coffee has it's bad side effects, there are benefits when consuming a low to moderate amount of the beverage. Herbal remedies for the plant abound, and are touted by naturalists who have used it for their ailments. The caffeine in coffee has been shown to stimulate athletic performance for improved efforts. Coffee can be used to treat all kinds of aches, pains, and even migraines due to the attributes of caffeine. The caffeine blocks pain perceptors, it has a pain-relieving action, and will elevate one's mood, which causes minimization of the pain. Having a hot drink of your brew with some pain medicine will help to alleviate your ailments much faster.
Caffeine also can open the narrowed bronchial tubes for those that have asthma or colds, making it easier to breath. Coffea Arabica seed oil is a common ingredient in cellulite creams, thus simply combining the grounds and an oil at home to apply on the desired areas, then covering with plastic wrap will have the same effects as a store cream. Regular ground coffee is also good for irritable bowel syndrome or other stomach problems. It is known to clean out the colon, providing a whole internal body cleanse of sorts.
Coffee can provide a multitude of benefits other than helping you to stay away so that you get through your day. A little research and technique goes a long way in home-made alternatives, some things your grandmother told you are indeed true and can be applied today just as well as it was decades ago.
