5 Rare Health Benefits Of Caffeine Intake

Caffeine is the major ingredient in tea, coffee and other energy drinks. It is contained in 60+ plants worldwide as per studies. Several experts are of the opinion that the evolution of these plants took place over millions of years for production of caffeine as a natural pesticide combating numerous destructive insects. Avicenna, the Persian physician-philosopher, first acknowledged the potential therapeutic value of coffee in The Canon of Medicine that was written in 1025 CE. Coffee was then used for cleaning the skin while combating body odor at the same time.

Here are some rare benefits of caffeine that you should know about:

1. Cognitive Improvements - Studies have indicated that caffeine may enhance overall alertness and wakefulness aspects for several individuals. They have clearly shown that caffeine is often connected to improvements in reasoning, reaction times and incidental verbal memory among other aspects.
2. Fat Burning - Caffeine reportedly switches the chosen metabolic substrate of the body to fat from glycogen. This increases lipolysis, i.e. stimulation of lipase which is hormone-sensitive. At higher doses for those consuming energy drinks and coffee, caffeine triggers protein kinase A which is a vital enzyme for glucose and lipid metabolism.
3. Post-Workout Recovery - Intense workouts and exercise help in burning off glycogen. Caffeine enables the promotion of glycogen resynthesis which is vital for recovery. For athletes and well-trained professionals, when this is combined with intake of carbohydrates, caffeine enables better build-up of glycogen after exercising.
4. Atrial fibrillation - Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which caffeine comes with numerous benefits. Caffeine helps in increasing the heart rate and overall contractility. It also prevents the negative chronotropic and inotropic actions of adenosine while working as a positive chronotrope and inotrope through inducement of β1-receptors and their activation based upon studies. This triggers off the sympathetic nervous system in turn. Caffeine may help those with atrial fibrillation it comes with antifibrotic actions.
5. Parkinson’s Disease - Several studies and reports have shown how intake of caffeine is tied to a lower risk for Parkinson’s disease. As per studies, caffeine has a protective impact in this regard. Caffeine is the underlying element which functions as the pharmacologic agent. Research has also indicated that caffeine may enhance motor functions greatly alongside.

Bonus Health Benefit-

Caffeine may also help with Alzheimer’s disease based upon several studies and reports. Coffee drinkers have reportedly shown lower risks of Alzheimer’s disease and dementia later in life. The lowest risk levels were seen in people drinking approximately 3-5 cups of Java every day. Studies have come up with several explanations for this development. They state that caffeine has neuro-protective effects which have primary targets of either the inhibition or activation of the A2A and A1 adenosine receptor sub-categories. The usage of the adenosine receptor antagonists like caffeine, as per researchers, has been proven useful in treating against Alzheimer’s disease and protection from the same likewise.

Usage of caffeine and similar adenosine receptor antagonists may lead to lower chances of inflammatory responses, hyperalgesia, dyskinesia, excitotoxicity, akinesia, neuronal cell death (tied to the pathophysiology of neurodegenerative diseases), sensory and motor defects and so on. Hence, caffeine and coffee may help greatly with several health conditions while providing some tangible benefits simultaneously.