Many coffee lovers are happy to know that drinking coffee is healthy, but they'll be happier to know that drinking coffee can significantly reduce risk of heart disease, among others, as proven by researchers.
This, according to U.S. News and World Report, comes from a recent report presented at the 2015 conference of European Association for Cardiovascular Prevention & Rehabilitation and published by the non-profit organization Institute of Scientific Information on Coffee (ISIC), which is dedicated to studying the various positive health effects of coffee.
One such study, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, reported that consuming five cups of coffee daily could reduce the risk of death from heart disease by as much as 21%.
A separate report published in the International Journal of Epidemiology clarifies that regular coffee consumption does not increase the possibilities of developing type 2 diabetes and obesity, as reported in Yahoo Health.
Furthermore, coffee consumption has also been linked to a lowering of the risk of getting liver cancer based on the analysis reported in the journal Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology. According to the report, drinking coffee has resulted in a 40% reduction in the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer.
Coffee also appears to benefit the brain. While coffee helps keep a person awake, it can have a long-term effect in preventing Alzheimer's disease.
Another report also showed that coffee could boost cognitive function and make individuals smarter. A 2014 study of the American Society for Nutrition found that caffeine could block a chemical in the brain called adenosine, which resulted in improved concentration and memory skills, as reported in Yahoo Australia.
Numerous recent reports of the benefits of coffee only suggest that the beverage can be made part of a healthy diet. Just how does coffee do it all?
"Although the precise mechanism of action is unknown, this may be attributed to coffee's anti-inflammatory properties, to caffeine and/or further compounds found within coffee, including antioxidants," said ISIC scientific committee chairman Karla Koullias.
But how much coffee is considered healthy? Gina Keatley, a New York City certified dietitian-nutritionist, told Yahoo Health that no more than three cups of coffee per day would suffice.
Meanwhile, Børge Nordestgaard, MD, a University of Copenhagen clinical medicine professor and one of the authors of coffee studies, said the take-home message was that no one should feel guilty about having one cup—or even three—of coffee daily.
