Benefits of Espresso – Is Drinking Espresso Good for You?
Drinking espresso is good for you, provided that you don’t drink too much and you drink the best espresso coffee beans as possible. Assuming that you are usually drinking quality espresso, there are many health benefits of drinking espresso!
Espresso can assist with weight loss, improve your focus, provide energy, and support your health in multiple ways.
Health Benefits of Espresso
Check out these five incredible health benefits of drinking espresso:
1.) Provides a Variety of Vitamins and Minerals
Espresso contains much more than just caffeine, and your daily shot of espresso provides your body with many vitamins and minerals that are crucial to your overall health.
The chemical breakdown of espresso reveals that it contains Vitamin B2, B5, traces of Manganese, Potassium, Magnesium, and Niacin (B3). According to a study published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis,
“consuming 200 mL (2 cups) of a strong infusion per day could provide more than 7.5% of the daily reference intake of potassium.”
2.) Boosts Your Memory
Several studies have demonstrated that coffee (in our case, espresso) has positive impacts on both short-term and long term memory. The high concentration of antioxidants and caffeine in espresso helps the brain with retaining information better, thus improving memory and overall alertness.
According to a study published in Physiology & Behavior,
“ingestion of caffeine (though coffee) at morning time had no effect on initial mood or working memory, but it did improve encoding of new information and counteracted the fatigue that developed over the test session.”
This is the main reason why most people can’t seem to function without a shot of strong espresso.
However, one thing must be kept in mind- adding sugar and milk can reduce the efficiency of coffee, therefore for a better, quicker brain, and stick with plain espresso!
Ready for your first cup of espresso?
3.) Fights off Diseases
The antioxidants in espresso have been proven to help fight diseases such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Type-2 Diabetes, and even Cancer.
For example, stated by a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease,
“These results indicate a surprising ability of moderate caffeine intake (the human equivalent of 500 mg caffeine or 5 cups of coffee per day) to protect against or treat Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in a mouse model for the disease and a therapeutic potential for caffeine against AD in humans.”
As another example, according to a study published in Nutrition Reviews,
“Research into the effects of coffee on human health is ongoing, but a recent study suggests that coffee and caffeine consumption can reduce the risk of elevated alanine aminotransferase activity in individuals at high risk for liver disease.”
The antioxidants in espresso are extremely powerful and help your body fight disease!
4.) Good for Weight Loss
There are many reasons that drinking coffee is good for weight loss, and espresso is definitely one of the best forms of coffee for weight loss.
Drinking espresso can help you lose weight by speeding up your metabolism and increasing thermogenesis in your body.
Thermogenesis is the process that increases your body’s heat production, therefore speeding up the calorie-burning process.
According to a study on the effect of caffeine on thermogenesis that was published in the Journal of Nutritional Science,
“These results suggest that caffeine activates brown adipose tissue (BAT) thermogenesis, which may contribute to the increase of resting metabolic rate (RMR).”
Additionally, drinking espresso before a workout can promote more weight loss because it will provide you extra energy so you can workout longer and more intensely.
Lastly, drinking espresso can help reduce your appetite so that you consume less calories per day.
There are multiple reasons to drink espresso for weight loss!
5.) Promotes Healthy Skin
Consuming antioxidants is great for your skin, and espresso contains high amounts of potent antioxidants.
According to a study published in the Journal of Dermatological Science,
“Intracellular and extracellular oxidative stress initiated by reactive oxygen species (ROS) advance skin aging, which is characterized by wrinkles and atypical pigmentation. Because UV enhances ROS generation in cells, skin aging is usually discussed in relation to UV exposure. The use of antioxidants is an effective approach to prevent symptoms related to photo-induced aging of the skin”
In fact, espresso can help you get healthier skin not only by drinking espresso but by applying it on your skin as well! A great example is the Reveal Naturals Exfoliating Arabica Espresso Coffee Scrub:
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Nespresso vs Espresso – Which is Better?
Comparing Nespresso vs espresso is a common question but there actually is a significant difference between traditionally brewed espresso and single-serve coffee maker machines like Nespresso.
Nespresso coffee machines are very common in Europe and are slowly making their way to the United States. I actually own a Nespresso machine myself, which I bought in Poland. Here is the Nespresso machine I have:
Last update on 2023-03-21 / I earn a commission if you make a purchase at no additional cost to you. / Thank you for your support!
But as I was saying, there is a pretty big difference when you are comparing properly brewed espresso vs Nespresso.
Espresso is a concentrated form of coffee created by forcing hot water at high pressure through superfine coffee grounds. An espresso machine is a precision instrument and the user must understand their espresso machine to produce a quality cup of espresso.
Nespresso has a much simpler operating procedure. You just pop a Nespresso pod in the device and press the button, and the Nespresso shot gets ready without doing anything more.
The process is not only fast but also consistent and simple.
Espresso vs Nespresso – The Flavor and Taste Difference
Espresso has full flavors with a rich aroma, and the full-bodied coffee shot has a strong acidic punch. Though complex, it is intense and fascinating. On the other hand, Nespresso pods have rich flavors and adequate aromas but tend to have a medium body with minor acidity.
Nespresso pods do not have as much flavor as true espresso shots, but they are not bad by any means.
With a commercial-grade espresso machine (cafe-quality), there is a substantial difference in shots produced from Nespresso vs espresso shots. However, when comparing Nespresso vs espresso shots made at home, the difference is not as noticeable.
I know this from my own personal experience.
Benefits of Drinking Espresso vs Cold Brew Coffee
Espresso and cold brew coffee are two of my favorite types of coffee to drink. Although I love the ambiance of drinking a cup of espresso in a European cafe, there are a variety of health benefits of cold brew coffee that make it a great alternative to espresso.
For some people, regular coffee or espresso can be a little too much. The caffeine itself might make you a little jittery, taking away some of the other lovely benefits.
For others, hot coffee like espresso might be a little irritating on your stomach
Instead of avoiding coffee altogether, you can make the switch to cold brew coffee!
Coffee consumption has been proven to increase the rate of digestion in your stomach, as well as to cause high levels of acid in the stomach itself. For those of you who battle with heartburn or other issues caused by an acidic stomach, traditional black coffee or espresso might not be okay for you
Another drawback of hot coffee or espresso is the amount of “cafestol” released through the extraction of a traditional heating process. Essentially, the higher the heat necessary for extraction, the more of this harmful substance is released.
Cafestol has the ability to raise your levels of cholesterol over time. Cold drip brew coffee is the absolute best way to avoid cafestol ingestion, as cafestol is only seen in negligible amounts in cold-brewed coffee!
Especially for those looking to take advantage of the health benefits of coffee, but cannot handle the issues pertaining to hot-coffee or espresso, cold drip coffee is an excellent replacement!
If you have never tried cold-brewed coffee or any other low-acid coffee, you will taste and feel the difference immediately!
Acid levels in your coffee correlate highly to the bad “jittery” feeling from drinking too much coffee, so for those who are sensitive to caffeine overall, cold drip coffee is an excellent choice!
Cold drip coffee is also one of the best pre workout coffee choices!
Cold-drip coffee is proven to have less impact on your stomach, while also providing you with antioxidants, moderate amounts of caffeine and other benefits to push you through your workouts!
Even compared to a pre workout supplement or any other form of caffeine, cold-drip coffee has some incomparable benefits!
As you can see, there are a few specific benefits of cold brew coffee that make it better for espresso for some people, but drinking espresso is healthy and I still prefer espresso over cold brew coffee most of the time.
You can learn how to make Dutch cold brew coffee for yourself at home or you can purchase cold brew from a local coffee shop.
Concluding Thoughts – Espresso Benefits
I never drank a single shot of espresso in my life until the first year I lived in Europe (in Macedonia). Since then, I’ve been hooked!
Drinking espresso is a simple way to improve your overall health and keep you energized throughout the day!
So, go enjoy your next espresso from your local coffee shop, or you can easily get a home espresso maker for under 200 dollars and get started!
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