Ate something bitter? Have a cup of coffee!

Today, millions of people start their day with a cupcoffee. For some, this is a way to wake up, although coffee has different effects depending on the body. Others consider it almost the most important drink in life. I'm not talking about the number of coffee houses and other institutions offering to enjoy a fragrant drink, which even in the smallest city can not be calculated. Scientists can’t even agree on whether coffee is useful or not: while some say that even two cups can harm your heart, others make a statement that 25 cups of coffee will do nothing to you. However, a new study discovered a previously unknown effect of coffee on humans: moreover, this includes a drink without caffeine.

Coffee is not only tasty, but sometimes healthy

In a magazine called Foodspublished an interesting article in which scientists talk about their find. According to them, coffee can greatly increase a person’s sensitivity to sweets and, conversely, reduce it to bitter. That is, those who too often drink coffee, in the future will increasingly recognize the bitter taste. And I just thought, why is it so easy to eat a spoonful of mustard? At the same time I drink coffee several times a day.

Does coffee taste

The main discovery is that on taste sensationsa person is affected not only by ordinary coffee, but also a decaffeinated drink. Although earlier researchers believed that it was caffeine that affects the perception of bitter substances, and sensitivity to sweets due to coffee is reduced. Here, it turns out, the opposite is true.

To find out, scientists conducted researchon 156 participants. All of them first tried or sniffed solutions of different concentrations, from very sweet to very bitter. For the preparation of solutions used sugar, citric acid, table salt and quinine (incredibly bitter thing). After that, the participants drank a cup of espresso, several minutes passed, and they again tried the same solutions. At the same time, a third drank not ordinary coffee, but decaffeinated.

No matter what kind of coffee the participants drank,both drinks increased sensitivity to sweets and reduced to bitter. That is, they felt the solution with sugar even better than before, but the solution with quinine was already more difficult to recognize. Among the participants were those who drank coffee constantly, a few mugs a day, and their sensitivity to bitter was even lower. But they caught sweets even in the smallest concentration.

For the purity of the experiment, scientists comparedSensitivity to sweet, bitter, salty and sour after a cup of coffee and a glass of water. It is interesting that neither water nor coffee has any effect on the sour and salty taste, but the perception of sweet and bitter changes greatly.

Measurement of sensitivity to tastes. On the left is water and regular coffee, on the right is water and a decaffeinated drink

If you are too bitter, you do not need to drink water. It’s better to make a cup of espresso quickly and your sensitivity to bitter things will drop.

What is better to drink coffee

Thus, drinking a cup of coffee with some Snickers or plain milk chocolate may not be the best idea, because coffee will only enhance the taste of sweets. And such a combination may eventually becomeYou are sugary, although separately, these two products can be consumed without problems. Therefore, in coffee houses, sometimes they give a piece or two of dark dark chocolate to a cup of espresso. Coffee dulls the bitterness in chocolate, and as a result, everything together turns out delicious. I know many who cannot stand bitter chocolate in everyday life, but will not give up a couple of pieces in combination with freshly brewed coffee.

In addition to changing tastes, coffee also affects vascular tone. Some vessels expand. For example, vessels of the heart, muscles, or kidneys. That is, they relax, thereby providing a "relaxing" effect. But here we are talking about coffee, which contains caffeine: when it enters the blood, a kind of “charging” occurs, when the vessels are either compressed or relaxed. This is especially dangerous in the presence of vascular and heart diseases, therefore, with heart disease and pregnant women coffee is strictly contraindicated.

Can, Tea is healthier than coffee? We already answered this question earlier.

So it is better to drink everything in moderation, including coffee. And if you want to spend even more pleasant time with a cup of espresso (one!), Then be sure to visit our news Telegram channel.