7 Reasons Why Coffee Is Good For YouCoffee isn't just warm and energizing it may also be extremely good for you.In recent years and decades scientists have studied the effects of coffee on various aspects of health and their results have been nothing short of amazing.Here are 7 reasons why coffee may actually be one of the healthiest beverages on the planet.Coffee doesn't just keep you awake it may literally make you smarter as well.The active ingredient in coffee is caffeine which is a stimulant and the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world.Caffeine's primary mechanism in the brain is blocking the effects of an inhibitory neurotransmitter called Adenosine.By blocking the inhibitory effects of Adenosine caffeine actually increases neuronal firing in the brain and the release of other neurotransmitters like dopamine and norepinephrine (1 2).Many controlled trials have examined the effects of caffeine on the brain demonstrating that caffeine can improve mood reaction time memory vigilance and general cognitive function (3).Bottom Line: Caffeine potently blocks an inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain leading to a net stimulant effect. Controlled trials show that caffeine improves both mood and brain function.There's a good reason why you will find caffeine in most commercial fat burning supplements.Caffeine partly due to its stimulant effect on the central nervous system both raises metabolism and increases the oxidation of fatty acids (4 5 6).Caffeine can also improve athletic performance by several mechanisms including by mobilizing fatty acids from the fat tissues (7 8).In two separate meta-analyses caffeine was found to increase exercise performance by 11-12% on average (9 10).Bottom Line: Caffeine raises the metabolic rate and helps to mobilize fatty acids from the fat tissues. It can also enhance physical performance.Type II diabetes is a lifestyle-related disease that has reached epidemic proportions having increased 10-fold in a few decades and now afflicting about 300 million people.This disease is characterized by high blood glucose levels due to insulin resistance or an inability to produce insulin.In observational studies coffee has been repeatedly associated with a lower risk of diabetes. The reduction in risk ranges from 23% all the way up to 67% (11 12 13 14).A massive review article looked at 18 studies with a total of 457.922 participants. Each additional cup of coffee per day lowered the risk of diabetes by 7%. The more coffee people drank the lower their risk (15).Bottom Line: Drinking coffee is associated with a drastically reduced risk of type II diabetes. People who drink several cups per day are the least likely to become diabetic.Not only can coffee make you smarter in the short term it may also protect your brain in old age.Alzheimer's disease is the most common neurodegenerative disorder in the world and a leading cause of dementia.In prospective studies coffee drinkers have up to a 60% lower risk of Alzheimer's and dementia (16 17 18).Parkinson's is the second most common neurodegenerative disorder characterized by death of dopamine-generating neurons in the brain. Coffee may lower the risk of Parkinson's by 32-60% (19 20 21 22).Bottom Line Coffee is associated with a much lower risk of dementia and the neurodegenerative disorders Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.The liver is a remarkable organ that carries out hundreds of vital functions in the body.It is very vulnerable to modern insults such as excess consumption of alcohol and fructose.Cirrhosis is the end stage of liver damage caused by diseases like alcoholism and hepatitis where liver tissue has been largely replaced by scar tissue.Multiple studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of cirrhosis by as much as 80% the strongest effect for those who drank 4 or more cups per day (23 24 25).Coffee may also lower the risk of liver cancer by around 40% (26 27).Bottom Line: Coffee appears to be protective against certain liver disorders lowering the risk of liver cancer by 40% and cirrhosis by as much as 80%.Many people still seem to think that coffee is unhealthy.This isn't surprising though since it is very common for conventional wisdom to be at exact odds with what the actual studies say.In two very large prospective epidemiological studies drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death by all causes (28).This effect is particularly profound in type II diabetics one study showing that coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of death during a 20 year period (29).Bottom Line: Coffee consumption has been associated with a lower risk of death in prospective epidemiological studies especially in type II diabetics.Coffee isn't just black water.Many of the nutrients in the coffee beans do make it into the final drink which actually contains a decent amount of vitamins and minerals.A cup of coffee contains (30): 6% of the RDA for Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5). 11% of the RDA for Riboflavin (Vitamin B2). 2% of the RDA for Niacin (B3) and Thiamine (B1). 3% of the RDA for Potassium and Manganese.May not seem like much but if you drink several cups of coffee per day then this quickly adds up.But this isn't all. Coffee also contains a massive amount of antioxidants.In fact coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the western diet outranking both fruits and vegetables combined (31 32 33).Bottom Line: Coffee contains a decent amount of several vitamins and minerals. It is also the biggest source of antioxidants in the modern diet.Even though coffee in moderate amounts is good for you drinking way too much of it can still be harmful.I'd also like to point out that many of the studies above were epidemiological in nature. Such studies can only show association they can not prove that coffee caused the effects.To make sure to preserve the health benefits don't put sugar or anything nasty in your coffee! If it tends to affect your sleep then don't drink it after 2pm.At the end of the day it does seem quite clear that coffee is NOT the villain it was made out to be.If anything coffee may literally be the healthiest beverage on the planet.This article was republished with permission from Authority Nutrition.Coffee also weakens your lower esophageal sphincter allowing more acid than normal to be released up into your esophagus. Coffee also increases the acidity of your stomach killing vital flora and creating a playground for bad bacteria to flourish. Goodbye digestion and immune system!@ Rogueagent123 So does Soda OJ alcohol lemon spicy foods greasy foods.... you get where Im going right?6. Coffee May Decrease Your Risk of DyingNo... No I can pretty much guarantee a 100% chance of dying.I would be interested in seeing (but not so interested that I'll do the research myself) coffee's nutritional value compared to fruits/vegetables or even V8. I would imagine a good salad would prove more healthy than a cup of coffee would be cheaper and not taste like poo.400 million cups are sold daily...in the US alone...pretty impressive. Dig it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xU_FgHoNTTE ...coffee!Kinda glossed over the fact that the stimulant effect of caffeine wears off and your brain eventually adapts to it so it requires more caffeine to produce the same level of alertness. Probably better to avoid it (and power drinks) entirely and get some decent sleep than have to continue increasing your coffee intake (and spending). Unless you're drinking it because it just tastes good....@Auroria: I might have enjoyed reading your comment. Perhaps I would even have learned something from doing so. Unfortunately your animated avatar is *so distracting* that I could not read your comment. If what you have to say is worth reading people will read it. An animated avatar seems like nothing more than a cry for attention -- a crutch for people who have nothing worth reading. Do what you will; but you can count me amongst those who will not read your posts so long as they are accompanied by an irritating distracting animated avatar. If you want readers (and why else would you post a comment?) take heed.Further to my comment about animated avatars above: Yes I'm aware that pressing [ESC] will stop them. But then what's the point of having them in the first place -- and why should the *readers* have to go to the extra effort? Most readers won't know about using the [ESC] button so the problem remains. At the risk of repeating myself -- if you have something worthwhile to say let your words speak for themselves. If you feel you need to use a hyper-active attention getter; perhaps you should consider what that tells you about how you perceive the quality of your writing.Remember to drink coffee in moderation. I myself prefer green tea or tea in general.I would love to know just how much coffee would be considered 'moderation'. Two cups black coffee a day? Three?@Auroria - Awesomely cool avatar :)One thing that's important with coffee is your kidney function. If you don't drink juices or something pretty diligently you could enjoy a kidney stone or three like I did.But I lived to enjoy another cuppa this morning.Consuming raw coffee beans has more health benefits than roasted coffee and what little nutrients are left after roasting are not very beneficial to health. Caffeine is only a temporary stimulant and it does not have all the assumed statistical wrong conclusions about it health wise. Stop these kind of misleading untruths published by what should be an unbiased science publication and not one designed to mislead the gullible public and put emotional power behind the untrue 7 beliefs about caffeine benenfits to health!!!!!!until I saw the bank draft which said $8121 I be certain that my sister woz like truley taking home money in their spare time on their apple laptop.. there neighbor had bean doing this 4 only about thirteen months and by now took care of the morgage on their villa and bourt Lotus Esprit. this is where I went â❤⏠â¬uzz80.âÂÂOâ³ â❤âGreat article. 2Thumbs^ coffee. And Aurorias icon. Tundrasea= bully.in order to thank everyone characteristic novel style varieties low price and good quality and the low sale price. Thank everyonehttp://al.ly/AvJhttp://al.ly/AvJhttp://al.ly/AvJhttp://al.ly/AvJ âÂÂ＼＿â­â­â­â­â­＿／â 　 　âÂÂ　　　　　　　　　âÂÂ＼｜／ 　 　âÂÂ　â　　　　　â　âÂÂâ€Ââ˜Â†　 　âÂÂâÂÂ　â°â‰‰‰¯　âÂÂâÂÂ／｜＼ 　 　âÂÂ　　　â°â€Ââ¯　　　／ 　 　â°â€Ââ‰ÂÂâ€Ââ€Ââ€Ââ€Ââ‰ÂÂ⯠　 　　â­âÂÂ　　　　　âÂÂâ® 　 　　â°â´â€Ââ€Ââ€Ââ€Ââ€Ââ´â¯Odds of dying is 1:1Great article. Thanks for posting it. The good news for coffee has been growing over the years. I remember reading 10 years ago it was linked to a lower incidence of Parkinsons. Since then the news has only been getting better.Go Jo!A massive review article looked at 18 studies with a total of 457.922 participants.Is anyone else concerned with the .922 participant? How did this person drop from being 1.000 to .922? Did someone drink too much coffee when writing this article?Fact is no-one is getting out of here alive. To speed up the process just stop drinking or eating anything and see how long you last. I'll take my chances with Coffee any day. I don't care what my mom says. I am just greatful that I have never had to experience the Jam sandwiches My Dad could some times have during the depression. Once in a while he could muster two pieces of bread and jam them together and dip it in coffee. That was a Good breakfast. Thanks for posting this article.Will drinking coffee negate the effects of prolonged sitting down(recent article)? Most days I will add two packets of green tea to my morning brew just to kick it up a notch. Some people have told me this is unhealthy or that it is too much caffeine. Thank you PopSci for giving me some psudoscientific jargon to disprove my naysayers with!GregN913 you add green tea to coffee? I've got to give that a try just to see what it taste likes. It sounds horrible but I'll try it once.I am so happy to see some reasons why coffee is good for you!! It is especially good in the workplace!! I found another great link too if anyone wants to check it out! www.aaasolutions.com/office-coffee/facts-about-roasting.htmTo tundrasea ...I went to all the trouble of Registering and creating an account just to comment on your disgraceful takedown of @Auroria ... sheeeeech... how about YOU get a life and let others do what pleases them. Why you had to devote so many paragraphs to criticizing someone's avatar is ridiculous...since you yourself supplied the SIMPLE remedy if you don't like animated avatars. How about you live your life with non-animated avatars and let other live their lives with whatever pleases them. WHO are you to judge and publicly condemn others for so innocent a thing as an animated avatar. It's time for you to have a cup of coffee and LIGHTEN up!!PopSci need to be a better job on these sorts of stories. Most if not al of the studies you are referring to are not couble blind placebo controlled trials. They are retrospective studies in which cause and effect can not be established and should not be assumed. Remember correlation does not imply causation. I expect better from one of the prominent popular science magazines.Additionally in regard to Item Number 6. You seem to have over looked the most recent study addressing this issue which found that coffee in fact reduced longevity. See Association of Coffee Consumption With All-Cause and Cardiovascular Disease Mortality in the Aug 9th2013 edition of the Mayo Clinic Proceedings. I would post the link here but the forum doesn't allow it. The article is available online though.my co-worker's mother-in-law makes $77 hourly on the laptop. 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