5 ADDITIONAL Health Benefits to Drinking Coffee

Coffee drinkers tend to have up to a 25% reduced risk of colon cancer. Research completed in Germany identified a potent antioxidant compound in the popular brew that appears in animal studies to boost the activity of phase II enzymes, which are thought to protect against colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States. A study following over 60,000 Finish men and women – the heaviest coffee consumers in the world - found that even for people drinking 10 or more cups of coffee per day, there was no increased risk of colon cancer.

Coffee lessens the poisonous effect of alcohol on the liver and help prevent cirrhosis. A study of more than 125,000 adults (including both drinkers and non-drinkers ) found that one cup of coffee per day reduced the risk of alcoholic cirrhosis by 20% while four cups a day reduced the risk by 80%. This held true regardless of gender or ethnic backgrounds.

Regular coffee consumption is linked to a lower risk of gall bladder disease in both men and women. In one study of 46,000 men, those drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day had a 40% lower risk of symptomatic gallstones and those drinking more than 4 cups of coffee a day had a 45% lower risk, compared with those drinking no coffee. A similar study of over 89,000 women found those women who drank one cup of coffee a day had a 9% lower risk of gallbladder disease compared with those who drank no coffee, those drinking 2-3 cups a day had a 22% lower risk, and those drinking more than 4 cups a day had a 28% lower risk of gallbladder disease. Both studies found no effect with decaffeinated coffee indicating that the effects seen were largely due to caffeine.

Drinking several cups of coffee daily appears to reduce women’s risk of developing endometrial cancer. A new Harvard School of Public Health study reported that women aged 34 to 59 who drank four or more cups of caffeinated coffee each day over 26 years reduced their risk for cancer originating in the uterus lining by 25%, compared with those who drank less than one cup per day.

Coffee consumption increases cognitive performance. Many people drink coffee to increase their short term recall, those who regularly drink coffee tend to perform better in tests of simple reaction time, choice reaction time, incidental verbal memory, and visuo-spatial reasoning, with a positive relationship between test scores and the amount of coffee regularly consumed. Elderly study participants were found to have the largest effect associated with regular coffee drinking. Another study reported that women over the age of 80 performed significantly better on cognitive tests if they had regularly consumed coffee over their lifetimes.

How much is TOO much? If you're drinking so much coffee that you get tremors, have sleeping problems, or feel stressed and uncomfortable, than obviously you're drinking too much coffee. Otherwise, the Harvard School of Public Health suggests there is no real negative effect of consuming up to six cups of coffee a day. In most research studies a "cup" of coffee is an 8-ounce cup with 100 mg of caffeine.

Also keep in mind that the research is typically based on coffee that is black or with only a little milk or sugar, but not with the kind of high-calorie coffeehouse beverages that have become popular over the past few years.

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