Most of us coffee lovers don’t go usually around promoting coffee as a healthy drink, yet there are some really good health-boosting reasons to drink coffee. So for those of you who already can’t imagine the good life without your morning cup of joe, grab it and let’s dive deep into some of the health benefits of this mysterious brew.

We may agree that nothing beats the sweet smell and taste of coffee in the morning. However, should we really be drinking a cup each day?

54% of Americans drink coffee daily; in fact, coffee is the most drank beverage in the world. While some people drink coffee for energy or because they love the taste, it actually offers numerous health benefits.

Let’s take a look at 10 more reasons you should consider drinking coffee on the daily:

1. Coffee Can Reduce Your Risk Of Developing Diabetes

Over 9% of American’s now have diabetes, and the number one factor behind its development is a poor diet and overall bad lifestyle choices. 

Although drinking too much coffee is itself a bad lifestyle choice, drinking a couple of cups daily is not only okay, it also reduces your risk of developing diabetes. 

Scientists at Harvard School of Public Health evaluated data from 128,000 healthcare professionals who were surveyed about their diet choices for more than 20 years. During those two decades, 7,300 of them were diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, but the ones who drank more than one cup of coffee daily had an 11% lower risk for the disease.

2. Coffee Can Prevent Cavities

Another not so well known health benefit of coffee is that it can decrease tooth decay. Several studies have shown that roasted coffee beans are antibacterial against the S. mutans, the bacterium that causes tooth decay.

Studies also show that roasted coffee prevents the absorption of such bacteria by the teeth. In the studies, various types of coffee beans were used, both roasted and unroasted, Arabia and Robusta while all of them provided similar benefits, the roasted varieties seemed to be more active in preventing bacteria from sticking to the teeth.

3. Coffee May Reduce Your Risk Of Developing Alzheimer’s 

The cases of Alzheimer’s disease are growing at a scary rate, but there are preventative measures you can take to lower your risk, and drinking coffee is one of them. According to a recent article in the Science Daily, drinking coffee may reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s and maybe even Parkinson’s diseases.

4. Coffee Improves Your Mood

Coffee contains caffeine, a nootropic that improves your mood and cognitive functioning. In short, it makes you more alert and has the potential to significantly boosts your mood. 

This is especially noticeable if you’ve been drinking coffee each day for a year and suddenly stop. You might experience a downshift in your mood, and only by drinking more coffee are you able to raise your spirits. 

5. Coffee Is Good For Your Liver

Avoid alcohol and drink more coffee is the advice here. While the former can damage your liver beyond repair, the latter just wants to protect it. Recent studies show that coffee consumption may actually lower the risks of liver cirrhosis and liver cancer. 

6. Coffee Could Help Prevent Skin Cancer

Skin cancer is now considered one of the fastest-growing cancers in the world, and more and more people each year are being diagnosed with it. 

There are things you can do to cut your risk, and this includes drinking more coffee. Scientists have theorized that caffeine is responsible for this, though no final conclusion has yet been reached. 

7. Coffee Improves Your Cardiovascular Health

This one is a little tricky because we’re always being told that coffee is bad for our heart. Keep in mind that sometimes conventional wisdom is often at odds with scientific studies (think: food pyramid).

True, too much coffee can be bad for your heart. If you drank 30 cups a day, as the great French writer Balzac was reported to have done, you are putting yourself at massive risk of having a heart attack. However, if you drink coffee each day in moderation, you can actually improve the health of your heart. Just make sure that you don’t overdo it. Anything over 4 cups a day can get a little bit scary.

8. Coffee Strengthens Your DNA

I was completely oblivious to this coffee drinking benefit until I started researching for this article. I was shocked when I learned that drinking coffee may actually have the potential to strengthen your DNA. According to this study, consumption of a dark roast coffee decreases the level of spontaneous DNA strand breaks.

You might be wondering why you’d need to strengthen your DNA. But why wouldn’t you?

DNA strands can break. To prevent this rather alarming thing from happening all too often, you could try to drink more coffee, as caffeine tightens DNA integrity. 

9. Coffee Is Rich In Antioxidants

This is one of the more well-known benefits of drinking coffee. But, I still wanted to mention it because it’s so antioxidants are so important to our overall health. Antioxidants are your body’s first line of defense against rogue free radicals, and coffee contains more than many fruits, including oranges and grapes. Believe it or not, coffee is one of the biggest sources of antioxidants in the Western diet, outranking fruits and vegetables. I’m not suggesting that you ditch your healthy diet rich in fruits and vegetables. What I am saying is that your coffee intake can add to that number.

10. And, Yes, Coffee Could Help You Live Longer

Okay, let’s expand on that carrot at the top of this article. We’ll let Ming Ding, M.D. explain this one:

“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation. They might be responsible for the inverse association between coffee and mortality. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.”

This article goes into detail about how drinking coffee may actually help you live longer.

In short, there are many good reasons to drink coffee each day. The controversy over whether or not drinking coffee is healthy, can be proven by science. If you are someone who enjoys drinking copious amounts of coffee (not more than 4 cups a day) and don’t have any underlying health issues that would be exacerbated by coffee, enjoy it!

Here’s to your health and longevity! 

Where’s the barista? lol

Be well + prosper,

Elaine