9 Healthy Reasons to Enjoy Your Coffee

Despite research that shows the many health benefits of coffee, many people are still concerned about their coffee intake, and some doctors continue to advise people to stop drinking coffee. While you should always follow your doctor’s recommendations, there are some very good reasons to relax and enjoy your morning cup of coffee. This is a quick roundup of some of the most important revelations about coffee and its health benefits.

Coffee Packs a Huge Antioxidant Punch
Coffee is a great source of antioxidants – one of the major sources of polyphenols for many people. Polyphenols are a group of enzymes that help prevent many non-communicable diseases. One study of older Japanese women found that coffee and green tea contributed more polyphenols to the diet than food did.

Coffee Boosts Physical Performance
Caffeine is a known performance enhancer. As a central nervous system stimulant, it increases your heart rate and breathing, providing more oxygen and nutrients to your muscles and cells. Drinking a cup of coffee about an hour before a workout can boost your endurance and your performance.

Coffee Reduces the Risk of Diabetes
Multiple studies have confirmed that people who drink at least two cups of coffee a day have a greatly reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The reduction does not seem to be related to caffeine, and it holds true even when you filter out other behavioral influences that might affect the outcome.

Coffee Boosts Brain Function and Attention Levels
Caffeine in coffee has been shown to increase attention in workers who are doing work that requires close attention to detail. Coffee also appears to boost short term memory, and, according to recent research into coffee and memory retention at Johns Hopkins, it can help enhance memory retention for up to 24 hours after use.

Coffee Reduces Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease Risk
A 2010 review of research into coffee and Alzheimer’s disease found that people who drink at least three cups of coffee a day in their middle years reduce their risk of memory and cognitive decline in Alzheimer’s disease by 65% at age 70.

Coffee Drinkers Are Happier
It’s not your imagination. In one study led by researchers at the Harvard School of Public health, scientists found that women who drink coffee are happier and less prone to depression than women who don’t drink coffee at all.

Coffee Drinkers Live Longer
One of the best headlines ever written about coffee stated that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death. In fact, that study found that older Americans who drank between one and three cups of coffee a day were less likely to die of a whole range of causes. The study was released in 2012. Since then, a number of studies have confirmed that people who drink coffee have a lower risk of dying from diabetes, heart disease, chronic respiratory diseases and several other causes.

Coffee Helps You Burn Fat
Caffeine can boost your metabolic rate by as much as 11%, which helps your body burn more fat in a shorter amount of time.

Coffee Drinkers Are Less Likely to Get Certain Cancers
A study conducted at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston founds that women who drink at least three cups of coffee daily had a lower rink of developing skin cancer than those who drink no coffee at all. Other research suggests that coffee drinkers are less likely to get several other types of cancer, though it doesn’t reduce the risk of cancer overall.