Coffee is one of the most consumed beverages around the world, especially to wake up in the morning for its energetic effects, which are due to its high caffeine content. However, although these grains extracted from the plantations have various health properties, many people still ask the same question about this drink: “Is it good to drink coffee for a headache? “
Some people claim that coffee can reduce this type of pain. But others think the opposite and believe that these seeds can aggravate this problem. If you want to know if coffee is good or not to reduce headaches, keep reading this article and discover the answer for yourself.
Is coffee good for headaches? – here the answer
Some people think that this drink is not a convenient option if you have headaches or are prone to them. However, coffee is good for relieving headaches, since it contains a series of properties that reduce this problem. Among them we find:
- Analgesic properties: coffee is a seed rich in caffeine, which is an alkaloid substance with analgesic properties. In fact, many medications that we take to relieve this type of head discomfort contain caffeine. Therefore, coffee could be a natural remedy to reduce headaches and their symptoms.
- Psychoactive properties: Caffeine is also a compound with psychoactive properties. This means that this nutrient has the ability to stop some neurotransmitters in our brain such as adenosine, a receptor that is directly related to headaches. In addition, as a consequence of the inhibition of this neurotransmitter, others such as norepinephrine, which is connected to concentration and mood, are activated.
- Vasoconstrictor properties : finally, caffeine is a nutrient that contains vasoconstrictor properties, which makes coffee a good remedy for cases of more acute pain such as migraines. Thanks to these properties, coffee helps to deflate the pericranial vessels, that is, the sides of the head where that intense pain occurs.
Other health benefits of coffee
In addition to relieving headaches in most cases, coffee is also a drink with different health benefits :
It is rich in antioxidant substances
Coffee beans are incredibly rich in a wide variety of antioxidant compounds, including phytosterols, chlorogenic acid, and flavonoids. Thanks to them, it favors the elimination of free radicals, responsible for cellular oxidation that causes skin aging and degenerative diseases such as cancer.
It is used as a digestive remedy
Coffee, especially in the form of an infusion, has excellent digestive properties that help us stimulate the digestive system and, as a consequence, prevent some problems of this nature such as heavy digestion or indigestion and constipation.
Helps lose weight
These seeds, especially green coffee, also become an ideal remedy to include in slimming diets. On the one hand, it has excellent diuretic properties, which increase the amount of urine and therefore reduce fluid retention. And on the other hand, its richness in caffeine and other acids stimulate and accelerate our metabolism and, as a consequence, the burning of fat.
Stimulates sports performance
As we have said, the wealth of caffeine gives coffee excellent psychoactive properties. In addition to regulating receptors related to headaches, caffeine also stimulates the formation of catecholamines, such as adrenaline. Therefore, coffee favors the release of these neurotransmitters that help us to be more active and alert.
Contraindications of coffee in some people
Although we have already seen that in some cases coffee can be quite beneficial for relieving headaches, in others it could become inconvenient, since, as with other remedies, not all are equally beneficial for everyone.
- Hypertension: first of all, the caffeine contained in coffee beans does not have to make everyone feel the same way. For example, if you’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure or have slightly high blood pressure, coffee will likely aggravate your headache.
- Nervous disorders : this drink is also not a good option if you suffer from a nervous disorder such as anxiety, stress, insomnia or nervousness, since caffeine has psychoactive properties, so you could suffer from overstimulation.
- Children : they should not drink coffee either in cases of headache or under any circumstances, since an excess of this drink can cause nervous disorders such as nervousness and insomnia.
- Pregnant women: finally, its richness in caffeine does not make coffee a suitable drink for pregnant women, since this substance directly affects the fetus and can cause a weight below the appropriate level at birth.
Headache due to lack or excess of caffeine
There is another reason why you can get rid of a headache with coffee, and that is, neither more nor less, than taking too much caffeine. Caffeine is one of the most addictive substances out there, so if we drink more coffee than is recommended, we could develop a caffeine withdrawal headache .
In this sense, the headache would disappear when drinking coffee, but it would no longer be due to the properties of caffeine, but rather due to addiction to it.
