The Surprising Health Benefits of Coffee

I’m sure we’ve all heard some conflicting ideas about coffee – whether it’s good or whether it’s bad, and the general consensus seemed to be one or two coffees a day was fine and may even have some health benefits. Now there’s even more good news for coffee addicts as a new study (Coffee consumption and health: umbrella review of meta-analyses of multiple health outcomes. BMJ, 2017) says having three or four coffees a day could make you live longer.

 

After hundreds of different studies it has been concluded that those who drank three or four coffees a day lived longer than those who drank none. Having a few daily coffees can also help decrease the risk of heart disease, lower the risk of some cancers, diabetes, liver disease and dementia.

While coffee is apparently good for us this newest study does warn it isn’t good for pregnant women. The study also found the perfect amount of coffee seemed to be three of four cups a day. After six cups the health benefits didn’t seem to increase any more.

One of the most interesting parts is that the reason behind these health benefits does not seem to come fully from caffeine. The researchers also did studies using de-caffeinated coffee and found there were similar results in a longer life span.

Some researchers believe the real good stuff coffee contains is actually antioxidants. These are known to fight cancers, heart disease and other sicknesses including the common cold.

While these studies don’t 100 per cent prove coffee is the source to better health. It does prove drinking multiple coffees a day doesn’t seem to have any bad effects to it.

So as long as you’re not currently pregnant go ahead and pour yourself another cup, or two.