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Have you ever wondered exactly how good for you your morning cup of coffee is or even your late evening one? While we all know the effects of excessive caffeine on your body and sleeping patterns, did you also know drinking coffee can come with many health benefits and is not just an active sleep suppressor?
While loading up your cup of joe with milk, cream and sugar syrups won’t be all too healthy, they’re great for a one-off treat; coffee itself can be really good for your health.
Without further ado, this post looks into the health benefits of coffee and why that morning cup of brown goodness does more than kickstart your day.

Increased Energy Levels

Probably one of the most well-known benefits of drinking coffee is its ability to boost energy levels. We all need help getting going from time to time, and if you are one of the many millions of people who can’t start their day without a cup of coffee, then you’re already seeing one of the benefits. The reason for this energy burst is caffeine, a stimulant that helps you fight fatigue and increase energy levels.
Multiple studies have attested to this, too; it’s not simply hearsay. One study noted that golf players who consumed one cup of coffee or similar caffeine drinks had increased performance, subjectively better energy levels, and could fight off fatigue easier. 

Reduced Diabetes Risk

Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disorder, while type 2 diabetes is thought to be caused by poor lifestyle choices. But studies suggest that coffee could be instrumental in protecting you against developing type 2 diabetes.
For starters, coffee is rich in antioxidants offering you protection against inflammation, insulin sensitivity, and metabolism. All of which play a part in type 2 diabetes. One study of 30 people found that coffee drinkers were 6% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes for every cup of coffee they drank each day (1 coffee = the risk of developing type diabetes is reduced by 6%, drink cups per day the risk is reduced by 12% and so on).
However, a different study found that those who increased their coffee intake over a year had an 11 lower chance of developing type 2 diabetes. At the same time, those who decreased the amount were 17% more likely to develop the condition (a 2014 Study by Harvard of 124,000 people aged 16 to 24 years of age). If you ever needed an excuse to order 1kg of coffee beans, then this is a pretty good one!

Control Parkinsons

Parkinson’s Disease is a condition where the brain becomes progressively more damaged over time and leads to the loss of control of bodily functions, an increase in shaking and uncontrollable movements, tremors and impaired balance, to name a few symptoms.Several studies have shown that consuming caffeine can reduce your risk of developing Parkinson’s, but for those who already have symptoms, the caffeine found in two eight-ounce cups of coffee can help to control involuntary movements (2012 study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Neurology.

Weight Management

Many studies have been performed to determine the effects of drinking coffee on weight management. Some studies show that higher levels of coffee consumed contributed to decreased body fat levels in both men and women. In contrast, a separate study found that people who drank two or more cups of coffee per day were likelier to hit their exercise and movement goals than those who didn’t drink over two cups per day.
While coffee itself doesn’t promote weight loss, before you start inhaling your morning cup, it simply gives people the energy and boosts they need to undertake physical activity, which is essential for weight management.

Liver Protection

Your liver performs many vital tasks in the body. The five main functions of the liver are; filtration, digestion, metabolism & detoxification, protein synthesis and the storage of vitamins and minerals.
With so much to do, how exactly does coffee assist with protecting the liver? Again as with other benefits mentioned above, studies have been looking into the effects of coffee on the liver, and one found that drinking two or more cups of coffee per day was linked to lower rates of liver scarring and liver cancer in people with liver disease. While another study found drinking cups of coffee daily lowered the risk of death from chronic liver disease. Caffeine is also thought to reduce scarring in those with liver cirrhosis too.

Healthy Heart

We already know that those who drink coffee are more likely to meet their exercise goals than those who don’t. And we also know that exercise is good for boosting your heart health. So it makes sense that both of these factors are good for your heart. Big coffee drinkers (we will presume without the bells and whistles of ordering a venti mocha frappe chai chino with extra foam and lashings of syrup) who consume three to five cups per day have a 21% lower chance of strokes and a 15% reduced risk of heart disease. 
So if you’re on the fence over that fourth cup of java to get you through that insanely boring work meeting, that probably could have been an email, then have the coffee and think of all the goodness you are bringing to your body.
Just to bring this point home, the Journal of Epidemiology and Prevention rounded up the results of 36 different studies to conclude that those who drank three to five cups of coffee per day were less likely to develop heart disease than those who drank less than three cups but more than five cups. The reason is unclear, but it is thought that caffeine, due to its being a stimulant, helps to widen blood vessels for increased control over blood flow and blood pressure.

Lowered Cancer Risk

In a world where most things you come into contact with or eat and drink can increase your chances of developing any type of cancer, it’s nice to read that coffee can actually have the opposite effect.
Researchers studied the habits of over 440,000 people over a ten-year period to assess their coffee-drinking habits and their health. This study, which was published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, found that people who drank four or more cups of coffee per day had a 20% less chance of developing melanoma than those who didn’t drink coffee or drank decaffeinated coffee.

Increased Lifespan

Moderate consumption of coffee, and we mean coffee as coffee black or with milk, not your dessert-style drinks loaded with sweeteners, can increase your life expectancy. One such study found that people who drank 1.5 to 3.5 cups of coffee daily had a 30% less chance of death from any cause than those who didn’t drink what we now call the brown elixir of the gods.
Essentially, what this post is getting at is to drink coffee; the caffeine can be extremely beneficial to your health, but the sugary additives are not so much. It seems the sweet spot for consuming coffee is around 3-5 cups per day, but not too late in the day, or you will disturb your sleep which is also vital for a healthy body.
Remember, high levels of caffeine can have adverse effects on your health, and when consumed responsibly, you can reap the benefits, as mentioned in this post, which is backed up by various studies, and use them as an excuse to feed your habit. So go drink the coffee and enjoy!