Coffee is a universal drink with several beneficial effects. There are many ways to boost your coffee with antioxidants. Coffee may reduce your risk of several conditions, including diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s disease.
To boost your daily cup of coffee with antioxidants, you can add several herbs with beneficial compounds.
Here are 5 ways to load your cup of coffee with antioxidants.
1. Add Ginger to Your Coffee
You can add ginger root powder to many recipes. According to the animal studies, the antioxidant compounds in ginger, such as gingerol and zingerone, can reduce the risk of inflammation, nausea, colitis, kidney damage, and diabetes (1, 2).
One of the best way of get these benefits is to add a spoon of fresh ginger juice or sprinkle ginger root powder into your cup of coffee.
For centuries, ginger has been a popular remedy for many health conditions.
Keep in mind, people who are taking blood-thinning drugs should not consume ginger because it can further thin your blood and may increase the risk of bleeding.
In addition, people who take blood pressure-lowering medications should also avoid ginger, as it may decrease their blood pressure beyond normal levels (3).
2. Add Cinnamon to Your Coffee
Cinnamon products or whole cinnamon powder contain many antioxidant compounds.
Many studies show that it can improve the immune system, lower blood sugar, and possibly control diabetes (4, 5, 6).
You can boost your morning cup of coffee with antioxidants by sprinkling cinnamon on it.
Cinnamon has been used for thousands of years, both as a spice and in traditional medicine.
Keep in mind, there is much more coumarin in cassia cinnamon, a compound that can damage your liver in high quantities (7, 8).
Ceylon cinnamon is low in coumarin and is safe to consume (9).
3. Add Turmeric to Your Coffee
Turmeric provides several substantial health benefits. It can reduce the risk of chronic inflammation, heart disease, and inflammatory bowel disease.
The key ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. Curcumin is also effective in reducing the inflammation of osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis (10, 11).
Add 3 grams of turmeric with a pinch of black pepper to your cup of coffee to gain substantial health benefits. Keep in mind that the active compound in turmeric is curcumin.
The body can’t absorb curcumin properly. Therefore, it is important to add piperine to improve curcumin absorption (12).
Piperine is an alkaloid found in black pepper (Piper nigrum), one of the most commonly used spices (13).
For that purpose, adding a pinch of black pepper to your turmeric coffee will increase curcumin absorption.
4. Add Maca Root Powder
In recent years, the maca plant has gained popularity. It is a plant native to Peru and is commonly available as a supplement.
Traditionally, the maca root can improve mood, memory, libido, energy, and relieve symptoms of menopause (14, 15, 16, 17, 18).
However, maca root powder is also nutritious. Maca is rich in protein and vitamin C and contains over 20 amino acids (including eight essential amino acids) and 20 free-form fatty acids (18).
Add 1 to 3 tsp into a cup of coffee for the optimum health benefits.
People who have thyroid issues should consult their doctor before using maca.
That is because it includes goitrogens compounds, which can interfere with the thyroid gland’s normal function (19).
5. Add Cacao Powder
The cocoa bean is best known for its role in the production of chocolate. Modern research has shown that it contains essential compounds that can support your health.
These benefits include reducing blood pressure, blood sugar, heart attack, and stroke.
In addition, it can also improve brain function, mood, weight control, and has disease protective properties (20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25).
Add 1 tbsp raw cocoa into your cup of coffee to gain these benefits. Overall, selecting organic raw cocoa that has a high content of flavanol is important. This means the less processed cocoa is better.
Conclusion
Coffee can not just help you feel more energized, but it can also help you burn fat and improve physical performance.
It is usually advised to reduce the consumption of coffee.
In fact, some people cannot tolerate the powerful effects of caffeine.
However, you can boost your morning cup of coffee with the above antioxidants to reap additional benefits.
