Some experts are shedding light on the staggering health benefits of one of the world’s most popular drinks; coffee. Reviewing a number of peer-reviewed studies, Professor Stephen Safe from the Texas A&M University and his team declared the drink a “miracle”.
The team even compared the benefits of the caffeine-favorite to the new trending Mediterranean diet and the “miracle drug” aspirin. Specifically, Stephen pointed out to UPI the drink’s ability to reduce people’s risk for a myriad of health ailments.
While coffee often gets a bad reputation for its high caffeine content or potentially damaging effects on a person’s dental hygiene, Stephen highlighted that an overwhelming majority of research points to coffee’s health benefits outweighing its adverse reactions.
A 2019 study revealed that coffee consumption lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes by 22% and a more recent study in 2021 revealed people who have more than 60 cups of coffee a month lowered their risk of liver cancer by 70% as well as reducing their colon and breast cancer risks by almost 50% and their risk of thyroid cancer by nearly 30%.
While more research is needed to discover just what makes the breakfast beverage so beneficial, its staggering protective capacity has been a known fact for decades as a 2002 study revealed it reduced the risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by up to 30%. But the extent of its miraculous capabilities is still being discovered as a study published just last year looking at diets that included coffee found a reduced risk of neurological diseases like dementia.
This latest study was conducted by Marilyn Cornelis of the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. The associate professor of preventative medicine has been researching the health benefits of coffee and caffeine for over two decades.
She explained that the drink’s caffeine content has a neuro-protective effect and helps the brain create dopaminergic neurons, the same brain cells many Parkinson’s treatments are designed to boost. While she agreed that more research is needed behind why coffee is so beneficial, she claimed it’s likely to do with the polyphenols it naturally creates which likely have antioxidant effects.
Additionally, an analysis of 32 studies published last year debunked the claims that coffee consumption is associated with heart disease, although Dr Donald D. Hensrud of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine highlighted that excessive consumption can cause trouble sleeping, heart palpitations and worsen symptoms for older men with enlarged prostate glands such as excessive urination.