🏁 Axios Finish Line: Healthy jolt

Plus: A recipe | Wednesday, June 01, 2022

Open in app View in browser     Axios Finish Line By Mike Allen, Erica Pandey and Jim VandeHei ·Jun 01, 2022 Jun 01, 2022 Welcome back. Send your feedback and questions to FinishLine@axios.com. Smart Brevity™ count: 496 words ... 2 minutes.     1 big thing: A healthy indulgence Illustration: Maura Losch/Axios   Coffee is one of life's rarest gifts — a pleasure that's good for you. Why it matters: Most things we indulge in — desserts, cocktails, fried food — aren't the healthiest. But coffee is like a delicious cup of caffeinated medicine. Oh, let us count the ways it helps us. It... Lengthens your life. Reduces the risk of dementia. Reduces the risk of stroke and heart failure. Protects against Type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer and liver disease. Boosts your mood, especially during wintertime when we have fewer hours of daylight. The big picture: What surprised us most about coffee's benefits is that they seem to apply to all sorts of coffee drinkers.  A new study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that those who drank 1½ to 3½ cups a day — even sweetened with sugar — were 29% to 31% less likely to die than non-drinkers, Axios' Tina Reed writes. Another recent study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, looked at people who drank one cup a day and those who drank a whopping eight cups a day — and also those who drank regular vs. decaf. Researchers found that all of them had a lower risk of death than non-coffee drinkers. Yes, but: Know the limits. Doctors typically recommend staying under 400 milligrams of caffeine a day. That's around four cups — or two mugs — of regular coffee. Teens should drink less. Beware of when you drink your coffee. Caffeine too late in the day will disrupt the quantity and quality of your sleep, which can lead to its own health problems. And beware of what you put in your coffee. Yes, a little cream and sugar is fine, but frappuccinos and macchiatos will quickly add to your daily calories. Brew matters. Not all coffee preparations are the same. Unfiltered coffee — such as coffee made with a French press — has been linked to higher cholesterol levels. Got more coffee questions? Send them to us at FinishLine@axios.com, and we'll get them answered. The bottom line: We so rarely get a pass to enjoy something guilt-free. Coffee is one of the great universal pleasures, enjoyed across cultures from the U.S. to Norway, from Ethiopia to Vietnam and beyond. So from three coffee drinkers to you — cheers! Share this story.     A message from Axios 📰 Communicate to earn trust: Lessons from Axios' newsroom     Join Axios Publisher Nick Johnston on 6/9 as he shares the attention-grabbing communication strategies he honed in the newsroom — and how he's used those same skills to keep ambitious teams aligned. Join us for more great conversations all throughout June — Effective Comms Month.     🧊 Make your own cold brew Photo: Matt McClain/The Washington Post via Getty Images   As the weather gets hotter, swap your hot coffee out for the cold stuff. All the health benefits we get from hot coffee can be gathered from cold brew, Harvard's School of Public Health says. Here's how to make it at home, via NPR: Put 1 cup of ground coffee and 4 cups of cold water into a jar. Stir, cover and let sit for six hours at room temperature. Strain through a sieve twice, and then pour through a coffee filter. Chill and serve over ice.   Thanks for reading. Invite friends to sign up. Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. Axios, 3100 Clarendon B‌lvd, Suite 1300, Arlington VA 22201   You received this email because you signed up for newsletters from Axios. Change your preferences or unsubscribe here.   Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up now to get Axios in your inbox.   Follow Axios on social media: