According to science, large observational studies link regular coffee intake with a lower risk of several chronic diseases; these studies are promising, but do not show cause and effect. It’s been associated with a reduced risk of liver cancer, a reduced risk of colon cancer, and a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes by way of coffee’s protective effects of the liver, and even stroke.
A large prospective cohort study, which looked at data from more than 171,000 people, found that those who drank between one and a half and three cups of sweetened or unsweetened coffee per day had a roughly 30 percent lower risk of death than non-coffee-drinkers. The lowest risk was found to be among those who downed roughly three cups of coffee a day.
Though caffeine itself has perks, including improved mental function and memory, the majority of coffee’s health benefits come from compounds called polyphenols in the beans. Polyphenols have been shown to support brain and digestive health and help protect against heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers.
Beans High in Polyphenols
Since polyphenols are key to the greatest health benefits your coffee has to offer, you should aim to get the maximum amount of these compounds each day, says Bob Arnot, MD, the author of The Coffee Lover’s Diet and the former chief medical correspondent for NBC News.
Some beans do a better job of this than others. The highest-polyphenol coffees are those grown in high-altitude spots, such as Ethiopia and Central and South America.
Dr. Arnot suggests looking for beans from the Huila region of Colombia, or those from Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, or Ethiopia. Arnot tends to find 19,000 milligrams (mg) of polyphenols per cup of coffee if he uses beans from East Africa.
Lightly Roasted Beans
The roast also matters. Roasting beans deepens their flavor, but the heat also breaks down healthful compounds like antioxidants and polyphenols. So light roasts (which are also denser and therefore have slightly more caffeine per scoop than dark roasts) tend to be higher in antioxidants, says Ali Redmond, the founder of Coffee Belly. Light roasts also contain higher concentrations of chlorogenic acid, a compound found in coffee that may protect the body against inflammation and cell damage.
