You may find the thought of eating coffee grounds unpalatable, but they are full of antioxidants also called dietary phenolic compounds. These compounds promote heart health, perhaps more so than drinking coffee.

Antioxidants combat free radicals in the body which can cause cancer. They also help to protect our skin from the aging process.

Antioxidants can be found in many fresh foods. For example, spinach, beets, red cabbage, artichokes, kale, raspberries, strawberries, and pecans. Even dark chocolate is a source of antioxidants. In fact, it contains more antioxidants than blueberries and raspberries. If you eat cocoa-rich products such as dark chocolate, they can lower your blood pressure.

Coffee grounds are also useful for other things, so don’t waste them. If you really don’t think you could eat them (and why should you?) there are many things that you can do with them.

In the garden, coffee grounds are an excellent bug repellent, and nutritious for plants like roses. They are also a fertilizer and you can add wood ash or lime to the grounds to make a really good fertilizer. If you have a compost heap, add your coffee grounds to it because they are rich in nitrogen. It seems that worms are attracted to the grounds and so the soil in your garden will benefit from their activity.

Did you know that carrots just adore coffee grounds? If you mix your coffee grounds with your carrot seeds, you’ll boost their growth. You’ll get bigger and better carrots than ever before.

You can use the grounds in the house too. They absorb smells, so if you put some in an open container, they will neutralize food smells in your fridge and freezer. You can happily leave the container for a few weeks and the grounds will continue to work their magic.

The grounds are abrasive, so if you have stubborn stains on your kitchen counters, you can sprinkle some grounds onto a cleaning cloth (preferably an old one) you can scrub the counters without damaging them. You can also use them to clean dishes which have food stains that are tough to shift.

If you make your own candles, you can add the grounds to the wax and make coffee-scented candles.

You can even use coffee grounds to exfoliate your skin or make a facial with them. If you add the grounds to warm water and add a natural oil, you will have an excellent exfoliator. For a facial mix, try mixing 2 tablespoons of grounds to the same quantity of cocoa powder, a tablespoon of honey and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or whole milk.

There are many uses for coffee grounds, so don’t throw them away even if you don’t want to eat them!