15 benefits of coffee in sports

Did you know, dear reader, that ever since the shepherd Kaldi and his sheep discovered coffee , its health benefits began to be known. Ethiopian monks learned to prepare it and accepted it as a medicinal beverage that helped them stay awake and alert during nighttime services and prayers. It is also said that the Oromo (an ancient Ethiopian ethnic group) made coffee balls with fat to help men last longer during military training and war. Another argument tells us that in the 13th century, the Turks roasted coffee beans, mixed them with sugar and spices like cinnamon, cardamom, and cloves; they boiled this mixture and sold it as a medicine. As you can see, the ancients, without having the medical advances of today, already recommended the health benefits of coffee and to improve their performance in activities that required attention and endurance.

Now you can see why, thanks to scientific studies, the benefits that our ancestors somehow recognized and that science now corroborates have been proven. The truth is that coffee helps produce endorphins produced by caffeine, which helps oxygenate and improve performance. Drinking a cup of coffee before training or exercising greatly helps improve concentration, endurance, and strength. When you drink coffee, the caffeine is quickly absorbed by the body through the intestine; it then enters our metabolism through the liver, thereby obtaining paraxanthine (stimulant), theophylline (psychoanaleptic diuretic and bronchodilator), and theobromine (cardiac stimulant). Therefore, there are many benefits to moderate coffee consumption when performing a sports activity that, due to its high level of demand, requires a great deal of effort and preparation.

What are the benefits of coffee in sports?

If you drink a good cup of coffee half an hour before starting your sports training, it will bring you the following benefits:

1. Muscles hurt less because caffeine reduces the feeling of pain and fatigue.
2. It helps you manage fatigue because it immobilizes adenosine receptors.
3. It improves concentration , because it stimulates the central nervous system and increases brain function.
4. Develops greater muscle power and improves performance.
5. Caffeine helps you lose fat and burn calories by suppressing your appetite.
6. Coffee increases adrenaline production during exercise, as caffeine triggers the release of this hormone in the adrenal gland.
7. Caffeine accelerates recovery after exercise because it increases muscle glycogen by more than 60%.
8. Drinking coffee improves blood pressure , because if you drink it in moderation, it raises your heart rate.
9. A cup of coffee improves short and long-term memory .
10. Good coffee consumption helps prevent illness, as it has various ways of protecting us from so many health problems.
11. Moderate coffee consumption reduces the risk of type II diabetes because it is associated with improved glucose tolerance.
12. Caffeine has powerful liver-protective effects. When you drink coffee, you regulate the low levels of enzymes that signal inflammation and liver damage.
13. Caffeinated coffee is a great source of antioxidants , as they are the number one antioxidant against free radicals, which attack cells.
14. If you drink coffee without excess, your risk of cancer is reduced , as medical studies indicate that caffeine protects against some types of this disease.
15. Coffee acts as a natural diuretic , because it helps improve fluid retention, eliminating excess water and salts from the body.
16. Finally, I inform you that good coffee consumers have a lower risk of dying from heart problems, diabetes, chronic respiratory diseases, pneumonia and suicide.

So, you know that, despite what you might think, coffee is a great friend of sports, and the benefits of consuming this wonderful beverage, especially when performing physical activity such as work or sports, are numerous. You know that people who drink coffee before going for a run maintain a higher level of concentration. It's also important for you to know that if that same person consumes caffeine after training, their muscle recovery will improve, especially if they consume it with carbohydrates. Finally, remember that the coffee portion should be consumed half an hour, or preferably 45 minutes, before beginning the sports activity, as the athlete needs to rest carefully beforehand.