The Biggest Coffee Myth You're Still Falling For

You can be the kind of person that hates the smell of coffee, or you can be the kind of person that drinks it every day. In either case, you likely believe a lot of myths about the morning brew. For instance, some believe that drinking coffee can lead to one developing cancer. This is, in fact, false. The antioxidants in coffee protect your cells, meaning that they can't get damaged and you won't develop cancer from it (via The Healthy). Furthermore, coffee isn't bad for the heart like some people think. It can raise blood pressure for a very small amount of time, but that's normal with any stimulant. On the contrary, coffee can help maintain your arteries, per The Healthy. 

Other coffee myths include coffee being able to cure hangovers, coffee being incredibly addictive, coffee stunting your growth, and all coffee having the same caffeine levels (via Thrillist). Instead of relying on coffee to cure your hangover, Thrillist recommended exercising, and it's worth noting that every type of coffee can have its own caffeine level, nonetheless the level fluctuating depending on roast. Remember, the lighter the roast, the more caffeine your coffee will have. Finally, while caffeine can be slightly addictive, it's just that, slight. Thrillist noted that any withdrawal symptoms typically last a single day, so it's rather dramatic to label it an addiction.

What is the biggest myth surrounding coffee, though? It's the one we've all heard, that drinking coffee will make you dehydrated. Experts even agree that this is the biggest myth surrounding coffee — and that it's not true (via The Healthy)! After all, as The Healthy noted, look at what coffee is made of. It's water! While coffee has dehydrating qualities, you're easily replacing what it took with the water from the coffee itself.

On this revelation, dietitian Halle Saperstein explained to The Healthy, "We tell people to drink eight 8-oz cups of fluid per day, and we always thought you couldn't include coffee. But now studies show otherwise. It's OK to count coffee as part of your fluid intake." This comes after a British study in which the hydration levels of 50 men were monitored and they were the same no matter if they drank only water or drank coffee.

Naturally, plain water will hydrate you the most, but what's important is knowing that coffee isn't the demon we've thought it is. Now you can sip your perfect cup with a new peace.