There’s more to coffee than just perking up your energy level. New medical studies suggest that drinking coffee can help reduce the risk of developing diabetes, prostate and liver cancer, and Parkinson’s disease.

Drinking more than three or four cups of coffee, regular or decaffeinated, helps reduce the risk of getting Type 2 diabetes by as much as 36 percent, while every additional cup of coffee consumed each day could reduce the risk of diabetes by 7 percent, a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine revealed.

Meanwhile, men who drink six or more cups of coffee every day, regular or decaf, have a 60 percent lower chance of advanced or lethal prostate cancer than those who don’t drink coffee, according to separate studies affiliated with the Harvard School of Public Health – this despite the findings that men who drink large amounts of coffee are also more likely to smoke, exercise less, and be overweight. These are factors known to increase the risk of prostate cancer.

Drinking one to two cups a day of the beverage reduced the risk of liver cancer, and drinking up to four cups increased coffee’s protective benefit, a Japanese study concluded. Other medical research links coffee to providing protection against Parkinson’s disease, the Mayo Clinic reported.

Researchers believe it’s the antioxidants known as polyphenols that are behind the benefits. A cup of coffee contains a higher level of polyphenols than do green tea, herbal teas and cocoa. The average adult consumes 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants from coffee every day, making it the biggest source of those precious natural chemicals in the diet.

However, doctors say these studies do not suggest that you drink coffee by the gallon. Too much of it can make you jittery, keep you awake at night, cause headaches and elevate cholesterol levels. Also, sugar and cream add extra calories. Coffee may be good for the body, but people still need regular exercise and a healthy diet.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 5th, 2010 at 7:57 am and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.