Ten reasons to put down that latte

Coffee isn't great for the skin, and your beauty detox diet

 plan should avoid it. Ultra Beauty tell you why...

The friendly Starbucks barista, the smell of roasted beans, the jolt of energy you get from the first sip.. It’s no wonder we’re all hooked on coffee. But did you know it isn't all that good for us? 

Ten reason to ease up on the black stuff:

1.  Coffee doesn’t really give you energy; it actually makes you more tired. The boost you get from caffeine is nothing more than chemical stimulation as your body struggles to adapt to increased blood levels of stress hormones. Caffeine taxes the adrenal glands, which impacts your thyroid, sex hormones, and your metabolism. 

Japanese canned coffee: Alex may look energized,
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Beauty detox coffee caffeine japanese

2. Coffee is bad for your skin.  Coffee raises a chemical call cortisol, and that raises your insulin levels. That leads to inflammation, which flares up in your skin cells and makes them puffy, dull and less elastic.  Inflammation is at the basis of most disease processes, whether it's ageing skin, heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's; it's all inflammation. So if we can alter inflammation in our body, we can become healthier and look better. 


3. Weight control. Coffee actually encourages your body to hold onto fat. Coffee is highly acidic, and our bodies store acids in fat. In fact, our bodies hold onto extra fat in order to keep acids from harming sensitive organs. If you feel like you’re storing a few stubborn extra pounds, this is yet another reason to give coffee a miss! Coffee raises cortisol, the stress chemical, and a US. study that suggests if cortisol is raised for a prolonged period, the body also relocates fat deposits from other parts straight to the abdomen. You end up with what we call ‘coffee belly’.


4. Coffee additions. All the things we add into our coffee — milk, sugar, artificial sweeteners — wreak havoc on our body. Among other side effects, dairy products cause pimples, sugar leeches collagen from your skin (making you look older than you are), and artificial sweeteners are thought to be harmful to your body.


5. You will save a lot of money.  If you spend £5 per day on coffees or caffeinated milkshakes, by cutting them out you will save £1,825 a year, or £9,125 over five years. That's enough for a lavish holiday, every year. Bring to work some herbal tea bags and use the money to get away.

6. Excessive coffee consumption can create a B vitamin deficiency, which in turn makes us feel exhausted, achy and nervous. The acidity of coffee leaches calcium from your body, leading to an increased chance of osteoporosis as you get older. Coffee can also prevent nutrients from being properly absorbed in our small intestine. Studies have shown that just one cup of coffee can reduce iron absorption from a meal by as much as 75%!  Bad news when many women feel the effects of low iron stores, in their every day lives.


7. Coffee makes you look older, part 2.  It prevents DHEA from being produced, and DHEA is responsible for regenerating and nourishing our skin. You also probably already know how dehydrating caffeine is. Dehydration literally sucks moisture from your skin… Meaning you’ll look wrinkly sooner. Additionally, if you have rosacea, coffee encourages flare-ups.

8. Coffee is one of the most heavily pesticide-sprayed crops, so with each cup you are ingesting a concentrated concoction of chemicals.

9. People who drink coffee get less sleep, and sleep makes you beautiful, feel good and stay healthy.

10. ...And caffeine causes depression and anxiety in the first place. It can lead to panic attacks too. A lot of people end up taking antidepressants because of the lack of sleep, fatigue and various psychological issues they experience from drinking coffee. 




Phew! I am not saying that you should never drink coffee again. If your morning soya cappuccino is one of your greatest pleasures (and I speak from experience), then stick with it.  It’s not all bad: it is packed with antioxidants, for example. But really enjoy it, remember that it is not a health elixir and stop after that first one.  If you’re drinking multiple cups a day, try substituting them with herbal tea, or hot water and lemon.

If you’re not convinced — and your brain's automatic response is “I could never quit coffee!” - that is because you’re addicted.  However much you believe that “I can’t function before a cup of coffee”, it is untrue. The human body wasn’t created to require coffee for optimal performance.

Paradoxically, if you quit your daily cup, you will wake up feeling fresher, more energised and able to focus.  Plus you'll look younger, more vibrant and have a few extra pounds in your pocket..