Is Coffee Good for You?

Coffee drinkers can enjoy benefits such as increased alertness and stamina, a sharper memory, and less fatigue and depression. Your cup of joe may even aid metabolism and help you stay regular.

Coffee beans contain more than 1,000 chemicals, many of which are thought to contribute to coffee’s health effects.

Up first is caffeine, which research has linked to the mood lift coffee may provide, along with improved memory and focus. Caffeine could help you become more active as well. A 2023 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that drinking more caffeinated coffee was associated with taking about 1,000 additional daily steps.

Then there are antioxidant compounds, such as polyphenols, that may beneficially alter blood sugar and fat metabolism and improve gut health. They could also help shield cells from oxidative damage, which is linked to a variety of diseases. "Most of the metabolic effects are probably not related to caffeine," Giovannucci says. These include reducing inflammation and insulin resistance, important for lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular and liver disease, and some cancers.

What about decaf? It may not give you the same kick, but "a lot of the protective associations that we see in caffeinated coffee are also seen in decaf," Giovannucci says. They include increased longevity and a lower risk of diabetes, heart disease, and chronic respiratory illness. There’s also some evidence that the very ritual of drinking coffee contributes to alertness and focus, whether it’s decaf or regular. If you’re experiencing unwanted effects from caffeine, switching to decaf or drinking half-caf may help. Decaf has 97 percent less caffeine than a regular cup.

The way you prepare your coffee can either enhance or limit its benefits. You also want to make sure you’re not getting too much of a good thing. The following tips can help you enjoy your usual brew healthfully.

Know your limit. The caffeine in coffee varies, but in general, 12 ounces has about 110 to 250 mg. For most adults, up to 400 mg a day is fine, but "the tolerance for the same amount of caffeinated coffee can vary a lot from one person to the next," says Gregory Marcus, MD, a cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Plus, the rate at which people metabolize caffeine tends to slow with age. If you notice that your usual lattes now seem to cause jitteriness, trouble sleeping, or other unpleasant effects, consider cutting back. Even one cup has benefits, so there’s no need to drink more, says Setor Kunutsor, MD, a professor in cardiovascular epidemiology at the University of Manitoba Max Rady College of Medicine in Winnipeg.

Choose the right brew. It’s healthier to drink filtered coffee than to use a French press because unfiltered methods result in high concentrations of cafestol, a compound in coffee that can raise LDL ("bad") cholesterol. A small study found that drinking a lot of unfiltered coffee raised LDL blood levels by 16 mg/dL in nearly 80 days. High LDL may elevate the risk of major heart events. But there’s good news for espresso lovers: Although it’s unfiltered, it seems to have a less significant effect on cholesterol.

Go easy on cream and sugar. In the Tufts study mentioned previously, the longevity benefits disappeared when people added more than a half-teaspoon of sugar, 5 tablespoons of 2 percent milk, or 1 tablespoon of light cream or half-and-half into 8 ounces of coffee.

Sip sooner, not later. A recent study published in the European Heart Journal that followed more than 40,000 adults over 10 years found that those who usually had coffee before noon had a 16 percent reduced risk of dying from any cause and a 31 percent lower risk for heart disease. But drinking it throughout the day didn’t have the same effect. Why? Coffee later in the day may disrupt the body’s circadian rhythms as well as suppress melatonin production, which has been associated with heart disease risk. Skipping caffeinated coffee in the afternoon and evening may also help prevent sleep disruptions, which can lead to chronic health problems.

Mind your meds. Some drugs don’t mix well with caffeine. For example, certain antibiotics, cardiovascular and asthma drugs, and antidepressants can affect how caffeine is metabolized. And caffeine can reduce the effectiveness of other drugs. So check with your doctor. You may need to take your meds and drink coffee at different times, or switch to decaf.