Who doesn’t love a good cup of freshly brewed coffee from the farms of Colombia? Maybe you prefer Panama? Nothing beats that smell of coffee first thing in the morning. Caffeine is everywhere the days, whether it’s your can of soda, coffee, energy drink or your favorite pre-workout.
Even though caffeine has been around for a very long time, there are still a lot of misconceptions regarding its effect on your health. Some people will have you believe that from your first cup, you are doomed to die early from a heart attack. There’s a lot of silly myths around that just need to go away. Time to get mythbustin’
Bad for your heart
This one comes from the fact that caffeine intake temporarily raises your heart rate. This is completely normal and is just one of the natural effects of caffeine use, if you ingest normal amounts of caffeine, don’t worry. Your heart will not pop out of your chest.
Various studies have shown that caffeine has no links to heart disease, increases cholesterol or increased blood pressure (permanent). In fact, many recent studies seem to suggest that a cup or two of coffee a day can be good for your heart health.
If you have high resting blood pressure, consult with your doctor over caffeine use and just make sure to not overdo it, high blood pressure or not.
Dehydrates you
This myth actually makes sense at first because caffeine is a mild diuretic. It makes you want to urinate frequently, however, if you get your caffeine in drink form, this amount of liquid is enough to offset any water lost due to urination. If you’re reading this, you’re probably drinking more than enough water anyway. A little caffeine will not dehydrate you at all.
Can cause bone deterioration
This myth stems from the fact that frequent urination can cause calcium loss. This, however, has been proven to not be true. Any calcium lost, if any, is just too insignificant to have any impact on your bones. If you’re eating healthy anyway, this should be of no concern because you are already consuming enough calcium to replace any slight amount lost from caffeine intake.
Great fat burner
Some of you might be a little bummed out about this but sadly, it’s true, sort of. Caffeine doesn’t do anything to burn any significant amount of fat cells. They are freed up and then released back to the blood. However, caffeine does help you workout longer and with more intensity, which can cause you to burn more fat. So, while it does not directly burn fat, it can improve your workout, allowing you to burn more fat with exercise.