Coffee&Health

Coffee, Caffeine & Health

Independent research by scientists worldwide continues to link coffee to significant (and surprising) healthful properties.

Spilling the Beans: Get the Latest FDA Guidance on Caffeine Consumption

Due to overwhelming scientific evidence, coffee has earned a new – and improved – reputation. The latest U.S. Dietary Guidelines recently made an unprecedented recommendation for coffee as part of a healthy lifestyle. 

The NCA is working with a team of scientific experts to compile a comprehensive overview of the research on coffee and health (and there’s a lot). 

In the meantime, we’re highlighting key findings on health issues with the strongest associations to coffee consumption. These include:

  • Cancer
  • Longevity
  • Cardiovascular disease
  • Liver health
  • Diabetes
  • Stroke

Here’s what the science is saying about coffee and health:

Coffee & Cancer

SCIENCE: Coffee consumption may offer protective benefits for post-menopausal breast cancer. Consumption of four cups per day was associated with a 10% reduction in postmenopausal cancer risk.

SOURCE: Coffee Intake Decreases Risk of Postmenopausal Breast Cancer: A Dose-Response Meta-Analysis on Prospective Cohort Studies’ by Lafranconi, et. al in Nutrients (2018)

SCIENCE: Coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of colon cancer in women. A study showed that there was a 20% reduced risk of colon cancer in women who drank more htan 3 cups of coffee day, compared to those who drank less than one or less.

SOURCE: Coffee drinking and colorectal cancer and its sub-sites: a pooled analysis of 8 cohort studies in Japan by Kashino, et al.  for the Research Group for the Development and Evaluation of Cancer Prevention Strategies in Japan (2018)

SCIENCE: Drinking coffee may prevent recurrence of liver cancer in adults

SOURCE: ‘Protective effects of coffee consumption following liver transplantation for hepatocellular carcinoma’ by Wiltberger, Lange, et al, in Zeitschrift fur Gastroenterologie (2018)

Coffee & Longevity

SCIENCE: A study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) looked at over 500,000 people, and found that coffee drinking was associated with reduced risk for death from various causes. 

SOURCE: ‘Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study’ by Gunter et al in Annals of Internal Medicine (2017) [Funded by IARC]

SCIENCE:  A study of over 500,000 people, spanning a decade, found that coffee drinking was inversely associated with mortality, including among those drinking 8 or more cups per day. 

SOURCE: ‘Association of Coffee Drinking with Mortality by Genetic Variation in Caffeine Metabolism’ by Loftfield, Cornelis, Caporaso, Yu, Sinha and Freedman, in JAMA Intern Med (2018)

SCIENCE: In a large study looking at over 400,000 people, coffee consumption was associated with lower likelyhood of death from disease.

SOURCE: ‘Association of Coffee Drinking with Total and Cause-Specific Mortality’ by Freedman, Park, Abnet, Hollenbeck and Sinha in The New England Journal of Medicine (2012)