They say everyone has a weakness. One vice that is just too tempting to give up. For some, it’s sweets. For others, it’s a perfectly cooked steak. And, people wrack their brains for years trying to figure out how to give up the thing they love so much.
But, what if there was a common vice that’s actually good for you?
Well, coffee may be better for you than you might think. You should not worry too much about coffee lectins.
In fact, you may think you have to sip a piping hot, dark brew in order to experience the amazing health benefits of coffee. And you may also think the only thing coffee can really do for you is pep you up.
However, the fruit of the coffee bean – known simply as coffee fruit – may be able to support your overall health.1
But what is it that makes the coffee fruit so special?
First and foremost, it’s a superfood. What does that mean exactly? For starters, it means coffee fruit is packed with beneficial antioxidants and helpful polyphenols.
Furthermore, coffee fruit can help support your immune system, assist in protecting your body against free radical damage, and help fight inflammation. But, I’m getting ahead of myself.
So, you’re probably wondering what coffee fruit is, exactly?
Well, it happens to be just what it sounds like.
There’s literally a fruit from which coffee beans are pulled, like pulling cherry pits from a cherry. Believe it or not, it grows on a flowering, bushy green plant. When the fruit is ready to be picked, it’s kind of a rich burgundy (though some varieties are actually yellow or green, those are less common).
Now, the skin of the coffee fruit is taut, but once you break through it, you find a sweet, delicious, gummy pulp with a sort of herby or vaguely floral melon taste. It’s light and delicious.
But, even more important than the taste, is the potency and concentration of flavonoids found within the fruit.
What are flavonoids?
Well, it turns out that plants contain thousands of natural chemicals that are meant to help them defend themselves against different kinds of germs, pathogens, and herbivores or omnivores (like us).
Now, these natural chemicals are called phytochemicals. And flavonoids are a diverse group of those phytochemicals found in several fruits and vegetables.
Flavonoids are often responsible for the amazing array of colors in most fruits and veggies. Not only that, flavonoids are also potent antioxidants. They’ve even been known to help support your immune system as it functions properly.
Flavonoids may also support your body’s production of nitric oxide, which may in turn, help with certain heart and breathing issues.2
Nitric Oxide And Aging
Nitric oxide is a natural gas. And … it’s produced in your body. But it’s more important than you may realize, because it functions as one of the major communicators between the cells in your body.
In fact, nitric oxide is what’s called a vasodilator. And a vasodilator is anything that assists in dilating your blood vessels, thereby decreasing your blood pressure.3 In other words, nitric oxide helps keep the proper pathways open for better blood flow because it can help your blood vessels relax.
Also, as we age our blood vessels tend to constrict more and more. So, we’ve got to encourage them to take a timeout from all that cramping and tightening.
Now, when your blood vessels tighten, they can put a significant strain on your heart. They can even cut off the nutrient and oxygen supplies to your tissues. So, what happens when this occurs?
Often, it’s simply the type of damage we think of as getting older. But, nitric oxide-boosting flavonoids might help to fight against the common signs of aging. So, you can see how the flavonoids and nitric acid in coffee fruit may help you fight aging.
How coffee fruit supports healthy brain function…
I mentioned above that coffee fruit is also somewhat powerful when it comes to supporting healthy cognitive function. Turns out, coffee fruit may support the production of the compound known as brain-derived neurotrophic factor (or simply BDNF). This compound is essential for optimum brain health.4,5
Sources:
1.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23312069
2.”Quercetin”. @berkeleywellness. N.p., 2017.
3.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24819865
4.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23312069
5.http://web.stanford.edu/group/hopes/cgi-bin/hopes_test/brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-bdnf/#how-does-bdnf-work
