Research indicates that drinking coffee is beneficial for most people in most situations. The few negative effects connected with it are outweighed by the number and significance of positive effects associated with responsible coffee consumption.  

In the United States—as well as throughout much of the world—drinking coffee is a central part of many people’s morning routines.

Indeed, some of us coffee drinkers cannot even envision a morning without a strong cuppa joe. 

But, over the decades, we coffee lovers have been given mixed signals about whether drinking coffee is good for us or not.

We’re here to share the unvarnished truth so that you’ll know once and for all if those cups of coffee are good for you. 

Spoiler alert: they probably are—especially if you take your coffee black. 

What Are Some Of The Health Benefits Of Coffee Drinking?

Let’s start with the good news: According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, there are an assortment of health benefits linked with drinking coffee.

First and foremost, those cups of coffee can potentially lead to a longer life. 

Coffee drinkers are less likely to die of stroke, diabetes, coronary heart disease, or kidney disease than people who don’t drink coffee.

Along the same note, coffee consumption can aid people by eliminating or reducing certain harmful health outcomes. 

A mere one or two cups of coffee daily may decrease your odds of contracting heart failure. 

Coffee may also help you avoid the onset of Type 2 diabetes since it can help you process sugar and glucose better. 

And coffee is extremely beneficial in regards to Parkinson’s disease. You are less likely to develop Parkinson’s if you are a regular coffee drinker. If you do happen to develop that ailment, coffee may help control your movements.

If you’re at risk of Alzheimer’s, you might want to consider keeping your coffee habit intact. It’s believed that two cups of coffee per day can reduce a person’s chances of developing dementia. 

Maybe you’re worried about getting a stroke because it’s the fifth leading cause of death among women. To help ward that off, one cup of coffee a day is recommended.

It’s time to throw a bone to the decaf coffee lovers among us: Both decaf and caffeinated coffee drinking lead to a 26% lower chance of one day having colorectal cancer.

Dark roast coffee intake decreases the amount of breakages in your strands of DNA, leading to a significantly reduced risk of both cancer and tumors. 

And coffee doesn’t only have useful effects for lowering the odds of contracting some nasty ailments. It can also help you move towards optimizing already existing good health. 

Researchers have discovered that coffee drinkers (including those decaf folks) have better liver enzyme results than those who aren’t fans of java. 

What Are Some Of The Health Risks Of Coffee Drinking?

Perhaps a bit more concerning, depending on a person’s overall mental health, is the onset of anxiety. If you’re a man prone to this condition, you may want to reduce your consumption to a level that eases your anxiety. Fortunately for women, coffee doesn’t seem to provoke anxiety.

If you can sleep like a rock, you may just want to skip this paragraph. However, for those of us who struggle with insomnia, reaching for that sixth cup of coffee may be a bad idea. In that case, stick to a cup or two earlier in the day and you should be fine.

The most concerning risk is for those who have heart issues. Coffee can increase a person’s blood pressure and heart rate. You should consult a doctor or medical professional about your coffee consumption if you have these conditions or are at risk of developing them.

What Is Responsible Coffee Consumption?

Coffee, like many other things in life, is inherently neutral. If you drink a cup or two a day and aren’t at risk of developing a few specific medical conditions, coffee can be an excellent (and tasty) addition to your life.

But maybe if you come from a family with a history of heart problems, your doctor just measured your blood pressure at 150/95, and you have an eight cup a day habit, yeah, not so good.

Although there is a great amount of variance, the average eight ounce cup of coffee has roughly 95 milligrams of caffeine.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans state that a person can safely have up to 400 milligrams of caffeine daily.

So, basically, if you are drinking one to three cups a day, you should be more than fine. Drink up!

Life can get pretty stressful sometimes. If you want to keep things in perspective, spread a little positivity, and give a nod to your love of fine coffee, check out our Cassandra Clare Quote on Coffee Print.