Health Benefits of Coffee

It is becoming apparent to researchers that for most people, coffee drinking may have certain health benefits. Donald Hensrud, M.D., a specialist in preventative medicine at Mayo Clinic says that despite the long history of getting blamed for all kinds of things, the moderate use of coffee on a daily basis may have some role in reducing the risk of various diseases.

Reduced Risk of Cancers

Coffee drinkers may be less likely to develop cancer. Harvard Health Publications reports that coffee drinkers were 50 percent less likely to develop liver cancer, and that some studies show they have decreased risks of breast, colon and rectal cancers. In a study published in the July 2010 issue of "Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention," Carlotta Galeone, et al., pooled individual level data from nine case-control studies of head and neck cancers; the analysis of this data seemed to support the notion that drinking caffeinated coffee did lower the risk of oral and pharyngeal cancer.

Reduced Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

In 2004 Jaakko Tuomilehto, M.D., Ph.D., et al., published a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that of 6974 Finnish men and 7655 women studied, there was a decreased risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes among coffee drinkers. These results did not change when other factors like smoking vs. non-smoking, healthy weight vs. overweight, filtered vs. non-filtered coffee, and age were considered. According to Harvard Health Publications coffee might also increase your resting metabolism and may contain chemicals that lower blood sugar. Both of these factors would reduce the risk of diabetes.

Reduced Risk of Alzheimer's Disease

Several studies have shown heavy coffee drinking may reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease. In July of 2009 Gary W. Arendash, Ph.D., et al., published a study in the "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease" that showed that mice who were given large amounts of caffeine were found to have a 50 percent decrease in abnormal amyloid proteins. These proteins are thought to play a large role in the development of Alzheimer's Disease. The casual coffee drinker would not receive this benefit from their coffee habit, as it takes over 500 mg daily of caffeine, or the equivalent of about five cups of coffee. In a Finnish study published in the "Journal of Alzheimer's Disease" in January 2009, Marjo H. Eskelinen, et al., found that people in their 40s and 50s who drank three to five cups of caffeinated coffee daily had 65 to 70 percent less chance of developing dementia and Alzheimer's in their 70s.