Drinking Coffee Has Its Perks

Are you a coffee fan? Is it the flavor you crave, or is it the caffeine content that keeps you energized throughout the day? Or are you against coffee altogether? No matter what your opinion on coffee is, there is no denying that it has proven health benefits for us.

Lets get to the facts.

Based on a recent study of 185,000 people across multiple populations (African American, Japanese American, Native Hawaiians, Latinos, and Whites) were studied over a 16 year period. Individuals in the study drank different amounts of coffee. The results are in favor of the java.

Those who drank 2-4 cups daily had an 18% lower risk of dying from conditions like heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Crazy, right? Just by drinking your favorite beverage, you could be lowering your risk of cancer! Need more convincing?

Another study of 193,000 coffee drinkers showed that those who drank 6-7 cups of coffee per day were 35% less likely to have type 2 diabetes. These findings were consistent across all demographics that participated in the study. How is this possible? Antioxidants: nutrients that prevent tissue damage caused by oxygen-free radicals. These antioxidants can help prevent signs of aging due to tissue damage. Fresh brewed coffee contains more antioxidants. While the level of antioxidants in the blood has not been scientifically proven to be influenced by the consumption of coffee, there's no harm in continuing to drink the beverage!

Coffee has also been linked to reduce your risk of suicide and depression. In another study, 86,000 female nurses who drank coffee were observed, and those who drank 4 or more cups daily were 20% less likely to suffer from depression. So along with giving you energy throughout your day, coffee will also make you a happier person! How can you go wrong with that?

While many drink coffee for its caffeine content, there is no change in nutritional benefits between regular and decaf coffee. So, no matter your caffeine preference, you can still get all of the great nutrition benefits that coffee has to offer.

This information is all so wonderful! Drink your favorite drink, get healthier! What's the catch?

Not all coffee based drinks are created equal.

While coffee is very beneficial to our health, we can reverse the health benefits very quickly by doctoring our drinks up. Added creams and sugars, along with many flavorings, can make coffee very unhealthy very quickly. Black coffee is the best for us, but if you want to add something to your drink to make it more enjoyable, try adding milk instead of cream, or not adding as much sugar. So, don't believe that you're lowering your risk of heart disease if you're drinking a cup of heavy cream and sugar with a mocha swirl and a drip of coffee. While it may be delicious, the more coffee you can have within your beverage, the better.

In the studies above, one cup of coffee is 8 ounces.