Coffee is a worldwide addiction. Why do people drink coffee? Some love the taste. Others want an extra jolt of caffeine to get them through the day. And then some people drink it for its health benefits, digestion and even out of habit.
Worldwide, it’s estimated that 30% – 40% of people are coffee drinkers. And with a population of 7.88 billion people, that means at least 2.6 billion people consume this drink.
But why?
Why Do People Drink Coffee?
Surveys of people in the United States have been done to understand why coffee, instead of anything else, is their favorite drink. One survey of people over the age of 18 in the US (857 total respondents), found:
- 62% of people like the taste
- 58% drink coffee to wake them up
- 46% find pleasure in drinking coffee
- 36% use this drink to warm them up (it’s amazing on a cold morning)
- 33% are happier after drinking it
- 29% find coffee relaxes them
- 28% drink it out of habit
- 14% like to try new flavors (some are divine)
- 12% drink it socially
- 9% drink coffee for digestion after a meal
- 5% drink if for health reasons
But, there are still many other reasons that people drink coffee that didn’t make it on to this survey.
Coffee Gets People Through the Day
Why do people drink coffee? If you’ve ever struggled to get through the day or just woke up feeling exhausted, coffee may be the pick-me-up that you need. Ask most people that can’t get through the day without their jolt of java, and they’ll say they need coffee,
Why?
Caffeine boosts your energy levels. When you drink coffee, it stimulates the central nervous system due to the caffeine. Of course, decaf will not work in the same way. If you’re drinking caffeinated coffee, it will:
- Increase energy levels thanks to it acting as a central nervous system stimulant.
- Blocks adenosine, a neurotransmitter responsible for helping the brain regulate energy levels (read the study here).
Coffee, or the caffeine that it contains, will decrease fatigue and improve energy levels. I do want to mention, and this is something that is still being debated by people, but adding milk or fats to your coffee will slow caffeine absorption rates.
For example, if you drink your coffee black, you’ll absorb the caffeine faster than if you add milk to it.
Caffeine binds to the casein protein in milk, slowing caffeine absorption, which I find helps me avoid “crashing” after drinking coffee. If you feel like you get a jolt of energy after drinking coffee and then get tired 30 minutes later, add in some milk to see if it helps you.
A lot of research is going into the health benefits of coffee because of the high consumption rate across the world.
Coffee has Some Serious Health Benefits
Do you drink coffee? If so, you’ll love that there are a lot of potential health benefits that this drink offers that go overlooked. I encourage you to do some research on your own if you’re interested in knowing more about these benefits, but they include:
- Lower risk of type 2 diabetes, according to a 30 study review.
- May slow the progression of Parkinson’s disease (read the study here).
- May lower the risk of Alzheimer’s disease, according to an 11-study review.
- Potentially decreases body fat, especially in men, according to a 12-study review.
- May help lower depression.
- May lower the risk of certain liver conditions.
Some studies even link coffee to a reduced risk of heart disease and stroke. You’ll certainly want to read through these studies to make your own judgment on the benefits of coffee. The studies and reviews linked up above show some serious health benefits of coffee that you won’t experience when drinking other common drinks.
Beauty Benefits of Drinking Coffee
Coffee and beauty? What? Yup! You can up your beauty regimen with coffee, but you have to use the grinds for most of these beauty treatments. For example, there are a lot of coffee benefits for skin health and anti-aging, but you’ll need to make a scrub or a cream for these perks.
A few of the ways that people are using coffee in their beauty routine are:
- Reduce puffy eyes and inflammation
- Reduce cellulite
- Decrease sunspots and fine lines
- Clear up acne
- Fight back against dark eye circles
- Reduce swelling
Again, most of these perks aren’t achieved by just drinking coffee. You will need to soak your foot in cool coffee to boost circulation or make your own exfoliator using the grounds to clear up your acne.
Some of the perks from CGA (what fights inflammation) are also experienced from drinking coffee. Yet, you’ll find that applying the grounds directly to the skin offers more targeted treatment. Coffee scrub benefits are pretty impressive, plus making a scrub is an excellent way to use grounds that you were just going to discard anyway.
And, I almost forgot to mention that you can use coffee for your hair.
That’s right.
Coffee benefits for hair health are actually pretty impressive and include:
- Hair growth
- Scalp exfoliation
- Soften and shine hair
- Covers grays (!!!)
- Slows hair loss
Whether you’re a man or woman, coffee can help promote hair growth and stop hair loss. Studies show that the caffeine in coffee helps with:
- Blocking DHT in the hair follicles of men
- Extending the hair growth phase, also known as anagen
- Promoting hair growth in women
If you exfoliate your scalp with coffee grounds, it can get rid of the dead skin cells on your scalp and also improve blood flow to the hair follicles.
Even if you’re just an avid coffee drinker, you’ll benefit from the antioxidants helping maintain the collagen in your body and caffeine promoting circulation. However, I would recommend using a coffee rinse or something similar to help with hair health.
With that said, putting all of these grounds down the sink or bathtub isn’t the best for your pipes. Instead, you may want to put a bathtub strainer or hairstopper over the drain to catch the grounds so that you can discard them properly.
Coffee Comes in Many Flavors
Coffee comes in so many flavors. If you run to Starbucks to grab an iced coffee latte with whipped cream and mounds of sugar, you’ll likely negate a lot of the health perks of drinking coffee.
If you don’t like hot coffee or it’s sweltering outside, there are a lot of benefits of cold brews, such as:
- Boost metabolism
- Helps with depression
- Impacts digestion
And, you can also try to add some butter and coconut oil to your coffee to make bulletproof coffee, for something a little different. Bulletproof coffee benefits drinkers in quite a few ways, such as boosting your energy, it doesn’t cause people to crash like regular coffee can, encourages weight loss and even helps with inflammation.
Don’t like bulletproof coffee?
Try mushroom coffee.
Mushroom coffee comes in so many types, including lion’s mane, Reishi, chaga and many others. Mushroom coffee benefits include higher antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, immune system support, liver support and lower caffeine levels, too.
You’ll also find other coffee types and delicious beans from around the world:
- Brazil
- Vietnam
- Colombia
- Indonesia
- Honduras
- Ethiopia
- Peru
- India
- Guatemala
- Uganda
However, coffee beans can be roasted in different ways, leading to unique tastes that are enjoyed around the world. Italian coffee, for example, is very dark and rich. You can also find coffee from the US, Germany, France – all over the world.
It’s fun trying out new coffee flavors and types of beans to find which you prefer drinking.
Why do people drink coffee? Most people love the taste, but when you dig into the benefits of coffee, you’ll find it also boosts energy, relaxes some people, aids in digestion and can even be used for beauty reasons.
