Benefits of Decaf Coffee
Coffee is considered to be one of the most beloved beverages around the world, which is enjoyed in both hot and cold forms, with milk or without milk, with creamers, with froth, or even crisp black.
Coffee is a great energizer to help brighten up anyone’s sluggish morning and for most people, drinking coffee before heading out eventually becomes more of a ritual.
But with all the benefits of coffee and worldwide glory your lattes, mochas, and espressos have garnered, they too have their own unique setbacks.
Have you ever experienced a heightened heart pace, anxiety, restlessness, or headaches after finishing your precious cup of freshly brewed coffee? If yes, then you, my friend, are experiencing coffee jitters that are caused by sensitivity to the stimulant caffeine.
If you are someone who has caffeine sensitivity or experiences adverse effects after sipping your morning cup of joe, do just consider quitting coffee just now.
Decaf coffee is a great way to enjoy the taste and benefits of normal caffeinated coffee but without any trace of the stimulant caffeine.
But before making a sudden shift to decaf coffee from your traditional roasted caffeinated coffee, it is best to know the benefits of this wonderful and innovative concoction.
To help you determine whether or not you should switch to Decaffeinated coffee, here are some benefits of drinking Decaf Coffee.
Table of Contents
What is Decaf Coffee?
Caffeine is a methylxanthine class central nervous stimulant that is ideally used as a cognitive enhancer, to elevate energy levels and enhance the attention span.
Caffeine is traditionally found in coffee and is often celebrated for enhancing brain activity by increasing the circulation of two chemicals adrenaline and cortisol.
While drinking caffeinated coffee in moderation can leave you feeling fresh or energized, drinking too many cups of coffee can lead to one experiencing side effects.
The purpose or function of this form of coffee is self-explanatory. Decaffeinated coffee also known as Decaf coffee, is a type of coffee that does not integrate the stimulant caffeine.
Decaffeinated coffee also called Decaf Coffee is essentially brewed coffee beans that are stripped from the caffeine stimulant after undergoing the decaffeination process.
So in simple terms, Decaf coffee is like your regular coffee but stripped from the stimulant caffeine.
Decaf Coffee allows you to enjoy a perfectly brewed, rich, dark, and slightly bitter cup of joe without putting your brain activity on overdrive as it lacks caffeine.
When passed through the decaffeination process, these stimulants are removed or separated from the coffee.
The Decaffeination process involves washing the coffee beans with a mixture of methylene chloride or ethyl acetate, soaking them in water, or using carbon dioxide to dissolve the substance and extract caffeine from the coffee beans.
However, Decaf coffee is not completely caffeine free, and based on regulations and EU guidelines, Decaffeinated coffee should assimilate about 0.3% caffeine.
How is Decaf Coffee Made?
Decaffeination of coffee was initially performed by Friedeblieb Ferdinand Runge a German Chemist the year 1820 performed the very first caffeine extraction from coffee beans.
Later in the year 1903, Ludwig Roselius a merchant successfully commercialized this form of decaf coffee after one of his shipments of coffee beans was soaked into seawater.
Based on different research and examination, there are three common ways of extracting caffeine from coffee beans:
1. Carbon Dioxide:
The Carbon dioxide gas is passed through the coffee beans in order to extract and separate the caffeine from the beans.
2. Swiss Water Method:
The Swiss Water Method involves green coffee beans that are soaked in water for prolonged periods of time until the water has been completely saturated with caffeine.
The caffeine is gradually sifted out of the water, leaving green-soaked coffee bean extract behind.
The extracts are then added to green coffee beans containing caffeine. These non-caffeinated extracts travel through the beans to seek equilibrium, leaving these beans almost completely free of caffeine.
3. Methyl Chloride:
For this princess, the chemical solvent Methylene Chloride is used to separate Caffeine from the coffee beans.
Prior to this method, benzene chloride was used as a chemical solvent to extract caffeine from coffee beans, until it was proven to be a carcinogen.
However, this method of extraction of caffeine from coffee beans is considered to be toxic that may lead to nervous system deterioration.
How much caffeine is in Decaf Coffee?
As mentioned earlier, Decaffeinated Coffee is not completely caffeine-free and does assimilate some amounts of caffeine even after the decaffeination process.
However, the trace amounts of caffeine are quite insignificant and do not cause one to experience any type of side effects linked to caffeine sensitivity.
In terms of the actual content of caffeine in Decaf Coffee, the numbers vary based on different processes of decaffeination, usually averaging somewhere about 3mg per cup.
On the contrary, a cup of regular coffee integrates caffeine content ranging between 70 mg to 140 mg per cup.
So, even if Decaf coffee is not completely free of caffeine, it does have a significantly less amount of caffeine content.
The nutritional content of Decaf Coffee:
Drinking Decaf Coffee is much better and healthier than drinking other caffeine-free beverages that integrate a higher calorie count.
Coffee is not as bad as people accuse it to be, furthermore, decaf coffee integrates the same national content as common coffee with the added benefit of being decaffeinated.
Believe it or not, the national content present in coffee and even decaf coffee is referred to as the major source of antioxidants in the Western diet.
Here is a list encompassing the nutritional content of Decaf Coffee:
- After the Decaffeination process, decaf coffee often integrates about 0 to 7 mg of caffeine per cup, unlike common coffee beans which often integrate about 70mg to 140 mg of caffeine per cup.
- Decaffeinated coffee is a zero-calorie food item because about 8 ounces of decaf coffee per serving contain almost no calories.
- Decaf Coffee incorporates trace amounts of vitamin B3, niacin, Vitamin B2, magnesium, and potassium that promote the holistic health and wellness of the body.
- Decaffeinated coffee also incorporates polyphenols and hydrocinnamic acids.
- Decaf Coffee, like normal caffeinated coffee, is rich in terms of antioxidants that help fight off free radicals in the body and prevent serious health conditions such as cancers, inflammation, as well as other oxidative damage.
A list of benefits of Decaf Coffee:
Drinking coffee is a high of most people’s sluggish morning and dull days, however, when consumed in large amounts, coffee can lead to one feeling anxious and nervous.
Decaffeinated coffee or decaf coffee is a great alternative to other caffeine-free beverages that are laden with copious amounts of sugar, calories, and other additives.
Decaf coffee just like regular coffee integrates the same benefits, nutritional content, antioxidants, appearance, and taste, but with the added benefit of being caffeine free.
To help you determine whether or not Decaf coffee is meant for your needs, here are some benefits of Decaf Coffee:
1. Prevents Type 2 Diabetes:
Coffee in both caffeinated and decaffeinated forms is great for preventing chronic diseases such as diabetes and certain types of cancers.
Decaf coffee, just like normal coffee, is rich in polyphenols and hydrocinnamic acids that help fight off free radicals in the body that may lead to such serious diseases.
2. Lowers Acidity:
Regular coffee whether you drink it straight up black or with a rich coffee creamer can be quite acidic in nature, making it unsuitable for people prone to acid reflux.
Decaf coffee helps eliminate this side effect of coffee, as it is less acidic due to the decaffeination process. In fact, most people with heartburn or gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) can benefit significantly from Decaf coffee.
3. Improves sleep cycle:
Coffee is a great energizer as it assimilates the stimulant caffeine which helps wake you up especially during lazy mornings when you find it hard to get out of bed.
But when consumed out of moderation, it can lead to one losing sleep and often experiencing a weakened sleeping cycle, causing insomnia in most individuals.
If you are a big coffee fanatic and enjoy drinking coffee for its tastes, then drinking decaf coffee may be your saving.
The powerful stimulant caffeine is often stripped away from the brewed coffee beans in order to procure decaffeinated coffee, hence making decaf coffee a great beverage for energizing your day without making you lose your sleep.
4. Prevents the risk of Cardiovascular diseases:
While regular coffee can lead to worsening certain cardiovascular diseases, Decaf or Decaffeinated coffee on the other hand has quite opposite effects.
Research has indicated that drinking decaf coffee can often lead to reducing the risk of developing heart disease.
So if you are someone who is suffering from or has cardiovascular diseases in their family, switching to decaf coffee may be the right way to go.
5. Helps prevents neurodegenerative diseases and aging:
Coffee in both decaf and caffeinated forms has been proven to prevent neurodegenerative diseases linked with aging.
In fact, according to a study conducted on human cells, drinking decaf coffee can help protect the neuron cells in the brain.
Furthermore, drinking decaf coffee can also help prevent age-related neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s.
6. Facilitates Weight Loss:
Decaffeinated coffee holds the ability to increase the metabolism rate. The increase in metabolism rate helps the food absorbed in the body slowly, meaning you can consume an appropriate amount of food without gaining excess weight.
Furthermore, an increase in fat burning in the body is directly linked to an increase in the metabolism rate in the body.
Coffee assimilates chlorogenic acids that act as a hunger suppressant and helps with controlling one’s food intake.
In fact, consuming coffee of any kind, whether it is common coffee that integrates caffeine, green coffee or even decaf coffee can help control your calorie intake.
Apart from controlling the appetite and acting as an effective hunger suppressant, the chlorogenic acid content in decaf coffee also helps with burning fat in the body, further resulting in weight loss.
7. Anxiety induced by caffeine:
Caffeine as a stimulant can cause and trigger intense brain activity leading to restlessness, anxiousness, and even nervousness, the triad is often called “coffee jitters”.
Decaf coffee eliminates the stimulant overall and eliminates the possibility of you experiencing jitters completely.
8. Dehydration and digestive issues:
Some studies have indicated that the consumption of caffeine can induce a gastrocolic response in some individuals.
These effects are similar to some laxative medications, leading to digestive issues as well as dehydration.
Drinking Decaf coffee can help easily eliminate problems of hydration or other digestive issues without changing the taste of your beloved beverage.
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