Some experts are shedding light on the incredible health benefits of coffee, one of the world’s most popular beverages. After reviewing numerous peer-reviewed studies, Professor Steven Safe of Texas A&M University and his team have declared the drink a “miracle.”
The team compared the effects of the caffeine-rich diet with the trendy Mediterranean diet and the “miracle drug” aspirin. UPI The drink has the power to reduce the risk of various health diseases in people.
Coffee often gets a bad rap for its high caffeine content and potential negative effects on dental hygiene, but Stephens stressed that the overwhelming majority of research shows that coffee’s health benefits outweigh any side effects.
A 2019 study found that coffee consumption is associated with a 22% lower risk of type 2 diabetes, and a more recent 2021 study found that people who drink 60 or more cups of coffee per month have a 70% lower risk of liver cancer, as well as a nearly 50% lower risk of colorectal and breast cancer, and a nearly 30% lower risk of thyroid cancer.
More research is needed to understand why your breakfast drink is so beneficial, but its surprising preventative effects have been known for decades, with a 2002 study finding that coffee reduces the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by up to 30%. But the extent of coffee’s miracle effect is still unknown; a study published last year looked at a diet that included coffee and found it reduced the risk of dementia and other neurological diseases.
The latest study was conducted by Marilyn Cornelius, M.D., an associate professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine, who has studied the health benefits of coffee and caffeine for more than 20 years.
She explained that the caffeine in coffee has neuroprotective effects, helping the brain produce dopaminergic neurons — the same brain cells that many Parkinson’s medications are designed to activate. While she agrees that more research is needed into why coffee is so beneficial, she argues that it’s likely because the polyphenols it produces naturally have antioxidant properties.
Additionally, an analysis of 32 studies published last year debunked claims that coffee consumption is linked to heart disease, but Dr. Donald D. Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic’s Department of Medicine stressed that excessive coffee consumption can worsen symptoms such as sleep problems, palpitations and, in older men with an enlarged prostate, excessive urination.
