It is a conventional belief that too much coffee is not good for your health. Drinking coffee has remained a controversial topic for years, with its advocates vouching for its anti-oxidant and energy-boosting quality; and its critiques detailing the downsides such as insomnia and restlessness. However, the latest scientific research is reporting the opposite: coffee may actually be good for you. Coffee lovers actually enjoy a variety of health benefits such as a longer life span and more….

 

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Let’s look at some of these health benefits:

 

1. Coffee Is Good For Your Heart

A 2022 study in the Journal of American College of Cardiology found that those who drank 2 to 3 cups of coffee showed the lowest risk of cardiovascular disease, congenital heart defects and all other causes of mortality. Coffee is heart protective and researchers have reported that a cup of coffee daily could lower the risk of stroke or other heart-related issues.

 

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2. Coffee Is A Source Of Healthy Antioxidants

Antioxidants are substances that protect our body’s cells from damage caused by unstable molecules in the body, during metabolism. Antioxidants also fight inflammation, an underlying cause of many chronic conditions, including arthritis, and many types of cancer. When thinking about foods containing antioxidants, fruits such as peaches, raspberries, strawberries, cherries, pears, guava, oranges, mango, and watermelon come to our mind. However a recent wave of researchers has found that coffee is actually a good source of antioxidants. A 2016 study in the Journal of Nutrition reported that adults who consumed coffee showed an improvement in their blood plasma, while adults who did not consume coffee showed no such improvement.

 

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3. Coffee Protects Against Cognitive Decline

As we age, self-reported cases of memory loss or confusion also rise. Such cognitive decline might be associated with Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. A 2010 study in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease reported that caffeine from regular coffee consumption may act as a protective factor against Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia. Interestingly, the study authors also measured the effect of tea drinking on cognitive decline, but found no association.

 

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4. Coffee Boosts Your Memory

A 2016 study published in Frontiers in Psychology shows that coffee has specific benefits for young adults as they found that memory skills and reaction times of the caffeinated volunteers were better than people who did not consume coffee. Drinking coffee is associated with better recall time, reduction in errors, and long-term memory retrieval in humans.

 

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5. Coffee Boosts Liver Function

Your liver totally loves coffee. A 2021 study found that "all types of coffee are protective against Chronic Liver Disease." Researchers went a step further and noted "the potential of coffee as an intervention to prevent CLD onset or progression".

 

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6. Coffee Lowers The Risk Of Depression

Depression, which is a mood disorder, is often treated using a combination of psychiatric therapy and medication. However, a 2016 study published in The Australian and New Zealand journal of psychiatry suggests that caffeine may have some benefits for people with depression. The exact substance in coffee working the magic of reducing depression is not known, but the researchers know that it is not caffeine. Another study showed that coffee is also associated with a reduced tendency to commit suicide.

 

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7. Coffee Burns Fat

Did you know that the ‘rush’ you feel in your body after drinking a cup of coffee is actually because drinking coffee boosts your body’s metabolism, and kick-starts heat production in your body which helps burn fat. A 2020 study published in The Journal Of Nutrition indicated that women who drink two or three cups of coffee a day have been found to have lower total body and abdominal fat than those who drink less.