5 reasons coffee is healthier than you think

It's a great time to be a coffee lover. Cafes are springing up everywhere, there's a huge variety of high-quality beans and roasts, and research is starting to show that coffee can be good for you. Here are some findings about five common diseases a that will surely encourage you to have another cup!

Scientists who study health trends in broad populations say that people who indulge a coffee habit appear to gain some protection against several diseases.

• As a beverage, coffee contains several compounds (including disease-fighting antioxidants) that are known to mop up dangerous free radicals.

So what sort of health benefits could coffee potentially confer to people who drink it regularly?

Caffeine alone raises blood sugar levels, which ratchets up the risk of type 2 diabetes. However, several large studies have found that consuming coffee appears to protect against this all-too-common disease.

• One analysis of studies involving more than 193,000 people found that heavy coffee drinkers (people who drink up to seven cups per day) seemed to cut their risk of type 2 diabetes by up to 35 per cent.
• People who drank decaffeinated coffee in this meta analysis seemed to lower their risk even more.

A recent study found that men who drink two to three cups of java each day reduce their risk of developing gallstones by 40 per cent.

• Some scientists believe that caffeine blocks development of these painful masses, which form in the gallbladder and bile ducts.

Drinking coffee regularly offers another potential bonus: some preliminary research suggests that coffee may help reduce the odds of developing Alzheimer's.

• A recent analysis of four studies found that coffee drinkers had a 30 per cent reduced risk for the most common form of dementia.
• One study of more than 47,000 men found that downing several cups of coffee a day may potentially cut the risk of developing this devastating neurological disease by up to 58 per cent.

Although cognitive problems are a symptom of dementia, let's face it: many otherwise healthy people lose mental sharpness and become more forgetful after middle age. Coffee can help.

• In one French study, women over 80 who drank three cups or more per day were 70 per cent less likely to have memory decline than those who drank one cup or less.

Coffee could even potentially fight cancer.

• A review of studies determined that people who regularly drink coffee (regular or decaf) or tea reduce their risk of colon cancer by 24 per cent.
• What's more, studies involving more than 241,000 subjects show that people who sip just two cups a day slash their likelihood of potentially developing liver cancer by 43 per cent.

Coffee is among the most traded commodities in the world and it's easy to see why. It has worked its way into our daily routines and there are lots of people who wouldn't want to start their morning without it. It's welcome news that coffee appears to be so healthy. So go on: pour another cup. Just make sure it isn't too close to bedtime!