If you are a coffee drinker like myself, you have surely asked yourself whether coffee is actually safe for you to consume on a daily basis. So here is a new question you may have never asked yourself, how good is coffee for you? The answer may surprise you…

Were you aware that coffee is the main part of dietary antioxidants? But let me be clear when I say that it doesn’t mean that your morning coffee allows you to give up those healthy fruit and vegetables. Many coffee fanatics will be happy to find out that coffee is a top resource for disease fighting antioxidants. Current research reveals that when coffee is taken in moderation, that it can be a safe beverage that can offer potential other health benefits.

So coffee is one of the few beverages that is drank worldwide. It is consumed in such a wide range of countries all around the world and is the second most widely traded commodity behind petroleum. It may be pipped at the post by oil in terms of trading but I can guarantee that coffee tastes a lot better, and with these 21st century petrol prices, the cost of a coffee seems a little bit more appealing to me!

You may be asking if we can call coffee a healthy food substance? That might be a bit of a push! Caffeine is the main aspect that people crave in a coffee and is one of the world’s most widely used drugs, thus being part of many people’s diets for hundreds of years. A number of potential coffee benefits include:

• Reduced risk of some forms of cancer

• Headache relief

• Reduced risk of developing type 2 Diabetes

• Improved physical endurance (when drank in moderation)

• Antibacterial ingredients to help fight diseases

• Reduced symptoms of Parkinson's Disease

• Reduced risk of developing gallstones

Caffeine is a worldwide recognized stimulant and is a substance that fives many beverages (including coffee) that edge that people love! Caffeine acts a mild stimulant to the nervous system and both decaf and regular can have a bit of a negative effect on your stomach if consumed excessively over a short period of time as well as leading to raised blood sugar. This caffeine however can raise metabolism and increase oxidation of fatty acids that the body needs rid of. Due to recent research, it has also been concluded that coffee can also be good for your liver. Multiple studies have shown that coffee can lower the risk of cirrhosis by as much of 80% (the strongest effect of this was for those who drank 4 or more cups per day.

So is coffee going to have a negative effect on your health? You must be aware that some coffee experts will argue that coffee is bad for you and warn you off it. This is also not to say that there are not some bad results from drinking coffee. However, it is nice to know that a cup of coffee in the morning may actually be doing some good! But how do you know for sure? Be sure to talk to your health professional or GP to get their advice, as well as not to go overboard in drinking it excessively.