6 Make-Ahead Meals That Are Ready When You Are
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: produce season! Literally everything is ripe for the picking, which means that this is the optimal time to up your fruit and vegetable game. This perfectly coincides with our tendency to crave lighter and more refreshing fare during warmer weather without spending...
From the Coffee Shop
Conflicting Study on Coffee and Health
With all of the studies out there showing health benefits from coffee consumption, a new study published yesterday found that heavy coffee consumption may be associated with a higher death risk in men and women under 55. The study, published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, men under 55 who drank more than 28 cups of coffee per week were 56% more likely to have died from any cause. The study spanned data collected from 1971 to 2002. However, it does seem safe to drink 1-3 cups of coffee per day without any health endangerment. One cup of coffee in this study...
Coffee’s Exercise Benefits
Now that summer is in full swing, many people are heading outdoors for bike rides, walks, and runs. Coffee can actually be a great pre-workout drink (without the cream and sugar!). Here are 5 quick facts why a cup of coffee before exercising is beneficial: 1. Accelerates Fat Loss a. Coffee consumed before exercise can cause fat cells to be used as an energy source as opposed to glycogen. The caffeine will increase your metabolism, causing you to burn more calories throughout the day. 2. Increases Performance a. A study published in the British Journal of Sports Science found subjects...
Coffee May Reduce Liver Disease Risk
A study from the Mayo Clinic has shown that coffee can lower the risk of a rare autoimmune liver disease. This disease is called primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) which can lead to cirrhosis of the liver or liver failure. Researchers looked at PSC and PBC patients (primary biliary cirrhosis patients) and compared them with healthy patients; the findings revealed that coffee drinking was associated with a lower occurrence of PSC. Not only can coffee lower this risk, but that may help researchers find the cause of the disease and other types of autoimmune diseases. Read more about this added benefit...
Coffee Grounds for Compost
Now that gardening season is here, a great way to reuse your old coffee grounds is for a fertilizer as they make a great addition to the compost pile! They’re about 2% nitrogen by volume and serve as an excellent nitrogen source in compost, much like horse or cow manure does. Nitrogen stimulates root development, increases seed and fruit production, and promotes leaf growth. Good homemade compost is made by mixing carbon-rich ingredients (dried leaves, straw, shredded newspaper) with nitrogen-rich ingredients (grass clippings, manures, coffee grounds, green plant trimmings). The fastest rate of decomposition occurs when there are 2-3 times...
Dangers of Energy Drinks
Some new research presented to the American Heart Association highlights some scary ways high-caffeine beverages can impede heart function. Seven studies were reviewed with healthy participants aged 18-45, and found that energy drinks can disrupt heart rate and raise blood pressure. The QT interval, which measures the time between heartbeats, was noticeably longer with people who had three energy drinks compared to those who had none. While this may not be relevant to an average healthy person, it may be an issue for people with underlying heart conditions and even cause heart failure. Clearly, if you are going to drink...
