I love coffee. We can’t imagine a day without a travel mug, whether we’re shushing out after spin class for a skinny latte or cradling one on the way to work. You feel energized by caffeine, and you enjoy sipping a steaming cup of coffee. But is drinking coffee healthy?
Coffee’s case is stronger than ever. Coffee is chock full of substances that may help guard against conditions more common in women, like Alzheimer’s and heart disease.
Whenever you think of coffee, you think of caffeine. Several nutrition experts from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine say that coffee also contains antioxidants and other active compounds that could reduce internal inflammation and protect against disease.
What are the top health benefits of drinking coffee?
Beyond the energy boost, your brew offers other benefits. Take a look at these ways coffee can benefit you:
- You could live longer.
According to recent research, coffee drinkers are less likely to die from some of the leading causes of death in women: coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease.
- Your body may process glucose (or sugar) better.
Study after study has shown that people who drink more coffee are less likely to develop type 2 diabetes.
- You’re less likely to develop heart failure.
If you drink one or two cups of coffee a day, you may be able to stave off heart failure, which occurs when a weakened heart cannot pump enough blood to your body.
- You are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.
As well as lowering the risk of Parkinson’s disease, caffeine may also help those with the disease better control their movements.
- Your liver will thank you.
The liver seems to be protected by both regular and decaf coffee. People who drink coffee are more likely to have liver enzyme levels within a healthy range than people who don’t drink coffee.
- Your DNA will be stronger.
Dark roast coffee reduces DNA strand breaks, which occur naturally but may cause cancer or tumors if not repaired by your cells.
- Your odds of getting colon cancer will go way down.
Colon cancer affects one in 23 women. Researchers found that coffee drinkers – whether they drank regular or decaf – were 26 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer.
- You may decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.
There are almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. In contrast, caffeine in two cups of coffee may offer significant protection against developing the condition. Women age 65 and older who drink two to three cups of coffee a day are less likely to develop dementia in general.
- You’re not as likely to suffer a stroke.
Women who drink at least one cup of coffee a day have a reduced stroke risk, which is the fourth leading cause of death for women.
