It’s National Coffee Day! Nielsen data suggests that Americans spend a whopping $9.4 billion on dry coffee each year and $2.7 billion on liquid coffee. Coffee creamers are also a pretty solid business, pulling in $767,000 in sales annually.
Coffee is a huge business, and it can also be good for you. Like anything, coffee needs to be consumed in moderation, but having a cup in the morning is thought to potentially have a number of good health benefits.
It Makes You Smarter
A study published by the British Nutrition Foundation found that drinking caffeine could actually make you smarter. While you don’t necessarily need to get that caffeine from coffee, the study notes that caffeine can improve things like your mood, reaction time, and memory. It’s not going to increase your IQ, but a good cup of coffee could increase your ability to handle complex tasks.
You Might Live Longer
CNNreported earlier this year that drinking coffee could lead to a longer life. The study surveyed 520,000 people in 10 European countries and found that coffee could considerably reduce a person’s risk of mortality. A smaller study of 185,000 nonwhite people had the same results. The perfect amount? 2 cups a day. The second study found that people who consumed 2 cups each day had an 18% lower risk of death than those who didn’t consume coffee at all.
Coffee Might Reduce Your Risk of Getting Some Diseases
Researchers at Harvard have determined that drinking coffee can potentially lead to a reduced risk of a number of diseases including cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, uterine and liver cancer, cirrhosis, and gout. Researchers aren’t sure what causes the benefits specifically, but many may be attributed to caffeine. Harvard also notes that drinking coffee can come with some health risks as well.
Coffee Has Nutrients
Fox News notes that besides caffeine, coffee also contains vitamin B2, magnesium, potassium, and polyphenols (an antioxidant). Just like popping a multivitamin, these can help you regulate your blood pressure, fight disease, and convert carbohydrates into energy.