Beyond the Caffeine Fix: 7 Hidden Health Benefits of Coffee

For many of us, there's nothing quite like the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting through the air in the morning. It's a comforting ritual of starting the day with a steamy mug and the top-of-the-morning greeting. 

And for others, nothing can beat a cold brew or a latte in the middle of the day to help get over that post-lunch fatigue. Beyond its invigorating aroma and taste, an additional plus point for all coffeeholic is that this beloved beverage, about two calories per eight-ounce cup also offers numerous health benefits.

According to NCBI, it's a natural source of phosphorus and magnesium. Packed with antioxidants, coffee can offer some impressive health benefits. Not to mention, coffee is the biggest source of antioxidants in the American diet.

Now if you drink coffee every day and are wondering what this habit is doing to your body, keep reading to learn 7 evidence-based health benefits of coffee and some additional information related to this topic. 

Benefits of Coffee

I’m sure you already know that coffee can boost your energy, but depending on how it is served, coffee can offer some pretty amazing health benefits. Here are some hidden coffee benefits that can positively impact your health:

1. Coffee Prevents Fatty Liver Disease

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world, leading to many researchers exploring the health effects of drinking this regularly. Good is that overall these studies spell good news for liver health. 

According to the National Library of Medicine, coffee is highly beneficial, when it comes to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. In simple terms, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease occurs when extra fat builds up in liver cells.  This disease affects 1 in 4 people in the United States who carry excess weight or have diabetes or high cholesterol. 

If this stays for a longer time, it can cause cirrhosis or scarring of the liver and that scarring can even lead to liver cancer or liver failure.  But, research shows that if you drink a lot of coffee, you’ll have a lower risk of developing nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. 

Coffee can even protect people who already have liver problems. There’s also evidence that coffee is helpful for people with hepatitis C, a virus that infects the liver and can lead to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

In short, for people who already have nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, drinking regular coffee lowers the odds of occurring cirrhosis. And for those who have cirrhosis, drinking more coffee protects them from dying from the disease.

2. Lower risk of type 2 diabetes

NCBI suggests that drinking coffee regularly can decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes over the long term. In fact, one review of 30 studies found that each cup of coffee people consumed per day was associated with a 6% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

This happens because coffee has the ability to preserve the function of the beta cells in your pancreas, which are responsible for the production of insulin to regulate blood sugar levels.

Additionally, coffee is rich in antioxidants and may affect sensitivity, inflammation, and metabolism — all of which are ultimately involved in the development of type 2 diabetes

3. Lower the risk of dementia

The National Institutes of Health suggests that drinking coffee 3-5 cups per day at midlife was linked with a decreased risk of dementia/AD by about 65% at late-life. So in short, consuming coffee may help you decrease the risk of dementia/AD. 

In case you’re not sure about what dementia is, it is a loss of cognitive functioning which includes thinking, remembering, and reasoning, to such an extent that disturbs a person’s daily life and activities. 

4. Lower risk of depression

There are some studies that found drinking coffee could be associated with a lower risk of depression and can reduce anxiety. In fact, an NCBI study found that people who consume at least four cups of coffee per day have a lower risk of depression than people who drink less than one cup of coffee per day.

The same study suggests that each cup of coffee people consumed per day was linked to an 8% lower risk of depression.  Further, one study of more than 200,000 people showed that drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death by suicide.

5. Lower risk of Parkinson's disease

Many studies have found that drinking coffee is associated with having a lower risk of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Parkinson’s disease is a progressive disorder that affects the nervous system as well as the parts of the body controlled by the nerves. 

One study revealed that daily consumption of 784 mg/kg or more of coffee during mid-life reduces the risk of developing PD at the age of 65 years by 5-fold compared to non-coffee drinkers.

In fact, a 1968 study suggested that people who drink coffee were less likely to get PD (Nefzger, Quadfasel, & Karl, 1968). Since then, multiple studies have confirmed the PD/coffee connection.

6. Coffee helps in Weight management

A study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition has found that drinking unsweetened coffee was linked with a small amount of weight loss while adding sugar to coffee was associated with some weight gain.

This study indicates that drinking unsweetened coffee might benefit overall weight management.

The study further found that drinking 1 cup of coffee daily, whether decaf or regular, was associated with a loss of 0.12 kilograms (kg) of body weight over 4 years.

7. Coffee Improves Athletic Performance

Coffee is widely known to enhance athletic performance. Most specifically, does of 3 to 13 mg of caffeine per kilogram of body weight have been shown to improve exercise performance. 

Coffee’s stimulating effect on the central nervous system has been suggested to reduce feelings of fatigue, lower perceived exertion, and even lower levels of body pain. 

Caffeine present in coffee additionally improves mental acuity and sharpness, helps maintain laser-like focus, and even enhances some technical skills both during and after strenuous activity. 

Some researchers also believe that coffee can improve the body's ability to use its own fat as fuel, which can effectively increase the time to exhaustion in endurance events.

Nutritional value for coffee

According to USDA, one cup of brewed black coffee with no cream or sugar added (240g) contains  2.4 calories, 0.3g of protein, 0g of carbohydrates, and 0g of fat. Also, coffee is a good source of potassium and magnesium. The following are some nutrition information provided by the USDA.

• Calories: 2.4
• Fat: 0g
• Fiber: 0g
• Sodium: 4.8mg
• Carbohydrates: 0g
• Sugars: 0g
• Protein: 0.3g
• Potassium: 118mgb
• Magnesium: 7.2mg

Adverse effects of Coffee

As we have earlier there are several health benefits of coffee when used in doses of up to 400 mg daily which is equal to about 4 cups of coffee.