Some Health Benefits Of Coffee

Once upon a time, coffee used to get a bad rap. The consumption of coffee was associated with increased risk for heart disease, heightened stress responses, and other negatives.
However, coffee is now getting its due.
It turns out that a person’s daily cup of deliciousness has many surprising health benefits.
Here are 10 of the most surprising health benefits of drinking coffee.

Mortality

In 2012, the National Institutes of Health–AARP Diet and Health Study found that higher coffee consumption was associated with lower risk of death, and that those who drank any coffee lived longer than those who did not.

A 2014 meta-analysis found that coffee consumption (4 cups/day) was inversely associated with all-cause mortality (a 16% lower risk), as well as cardiovascular disease mortality specifically (a 21% lower risk from drinking 3 cups/day).

Additional meta-analyses corroborated these findings, showing that higher coffee consumption (2–4 cups per day) was associated with a reduced risk of death by all disease causes.

Long live coffee!

Cardiovascular disease

A 2012 meta-analysis concluded that people who drank moderate amounts of coffee had a lower rate of heart failure, with the biggest effect found for those who drank more than four cups a day. A 2014 meta-analysis concluded that cardiovascular disease, such as coronary artery disease and stroke, is less likely with three to five cups of non-decaffeinated coffee per day, but more likely with over five cups per day. A 2016 meta-analysis showed that coffee consumption was associated with a reduced risk of death in patients who have had a myocardial infarction.

Drinking four or more cups of coffee per day does not affect the risk of hypertension compared to drinking little or no coffee; however, drinking one to three cups per day may be at a slightly increased risk.

Mental health

This one is not associated to consuming coffee but to not doing that! Caffeine, the major active ingredient in coffee, is associated with anxiety. At high doses, typically greater than 300 mg, caffeine can both cause and worsen anxiety. For some people, discontinuing caffeine use can significantly reduce anxiety. Caffeine-induced anxiety disorder is a subclass of substance- or medication-induced anxiety disorder.

Populations that may be most impacted by caffeine consumption are adolescents and those already suffering anxiety disorders. Preliminary research indicated the possibility of a beneficial relationship between coffee intake and reduced depression.

Parkinson's disease

Meta-analyses have consistently found that long-term coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of Parkinson's disease.

Type II diabetes

In a systematic review and meta-analysis of 28 prospective observational studies, representing over one million participants, every additional cup of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee consumed in a day was associated, respectively, with a 9% and 6% lower risk of type 2 diabetes.

Cancer

The effects of coffee consumption on cancer risk generally indicate that it is safe, and with no effect or produces a lower risk of cancer. A 2011 review found that regular coffee consumption of up to 6 cups per day reduced the risk of several types of cancer.