Decreased risk of depression

• In 2016 The Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry published a meta-analysis based on 7 studies and a total of 330,677 participants which found that each cup of coffee consumed per day was associated with an 8 percent reduced risk of depression. [Source]
• In 2011 Archives of Internal Medicine published a prospective study of 50,739 women which found that depression risk decreased with increased caffeinated coffee consumption. [Source]
• In 2010 Public Health Nutrition published a study based on a 2232 middle-aged men which found that heavy coffee drinkers (greater than 3.5 cups/day) had significantly lower risk for depression compared to non-drinkers. [Source]
• In 2014 Public Health Nutrition published a study based on 537 men and women which found that both coffee and tea consumption were inversely associated with depression. [Source]
• In 2015 the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study based on 10,177 individuals aged 20-97 who participated in a national health survey. The results showed that consumption 1-3 cups of coffee per day was associated with up to a 42 percent lower risk for depression. [Source]
• In 2015 Molecular Nutrition and Food Research published a meta-analysis of 12 studies including 346,913 subjects which found that individuals with higher coffee intakes had a 24 percent lower risk of depression compared to individuals with lower coffee consumption. [Source]
• In 2014 The World Journal of Biological Psychiatry published a study based on 3 large health surveys which found that, compared to those who consumed less than 1 cup of coffee per week, suicide rates were 45 percent lower for individuals who consumed 2-3 cups of coffee per day and 53 percent lower for those who drank 4 or more cups of coffee per day. [Source]

Slows age-related cognitive decline

• In 2013 Age published an animal study in which found that aged rats fed a diet supplemented with coffee performed better in memory and motor tasks, compared to a control group. A subsequent study showed that caffeine alone did not have the same effect, implying that the nueroprotective effects of coffee are not due to caffeine alone, but additional bioactive compounds in coffee. [Source]
• In 2007 the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study of 676 men which found that men who consumed 3 cups of coffee per day had a 10-year mental decline of 2 percent, while non-coffee consumers had a 10-year mental decline of over 8 percent. [Source]

Alertness and cognitive function

• In 2014 Biomed Research published a study of 86 dialysis patients which found that regular coffee drinkers achieved higher scores on cognitive tests, specifically those involving attention and concentration. [Source]

Decreased risk of depression in type 2 diabetics

• In 2014 the Journal of Clinical Biochemistry and Nutrition published study which found that coffee consumption was inversely associated with depressive symptoms and was an independent predictor of non-depressed status in diabetics, likely due to biological compounds in coffee other than caffeine. [Source]

Decreased depression risk in older adults

• In 2014 the Public Library of Science published a study based on a health survey of 263,932 older adults which found that frequent consumption of sweetened beverages and diet drinks was associated with an increased risk for depression while coffee and tea consumption (with no artificial sweeteners) was associated with a lower risk for depression. [Source]

Coffee in adolescents – associated with increased depression

• In 2016 the Korean Journal of Family Medicine published a study based on a questionnaire of 234 middle-school students which found that higher caffeine intake (among which coffee was one source of caffeine reported) was associated with higher weight, lower academic achievement and greater depression, anxiety and insomnia. [Source]

Coffee and caffeine dosage related to depression

• In 2014 Rivista Di Psichiatria published a review of current literature which concluded that, while data is conflicting, extensive follow-up studies show that caffeine can significantly reduce depression risk, though it can worsen symptoms in those with postpartum depression and panic disorder. Higher doses of coffee can also lead to irregular heartbeat and anxiety. [Source]

Alzheimer’s

• In 2011 the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease published an animal study which found that Alzheimer’s-prone mice given caffeinated coffee had increased granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (a substance that stimulates the production of stem cells) which lead to enhanced working memory. The authors note that coffee may be the best source of caffeine to protect against Alzheimer’s disease due to the synergistic effects between caffeine and its other bioactive compounds which have multiple therapeutic actions against Alzheimer’s, including the suppression of amyloid beta (the primary trigger for Alzheimer’s parthenogenesis). [Source]

Antioxidant levels in coffee – dark vs light roasts

• In 2002 the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry published a study which analyzed various samples of coffee and determined that darker roasts had lower antioxidant levels compared to medium roasts. Progressively roasting coffee was found to be inversely correlated with antioxidant activity. [Source]

Antioxidant levels in roasted and unroasted (green) coffee beans

• In 2015 Molecular Medicine Reports published a study which found that both green and roasted coffee beans exhibited potent antioxidant activity. There was no clear association between coffee roasting and antioxidant content across a variety of beans tested – in some beans roasting reduced antioxidant levels whereas in others it increased the antioxidant content. [Source]
• In 2010 Molecular Nutrition and Food Research published a study which found that both the original components of coffee and the products produced through roasting contributed to its antioxidant activity. [Source]

Antioxidant

• In 2016 The Journal of Nutrition published a placebo-controlled study involving 75 participants which found that coffee with medium-to-high levels of chlorogenic acid improved antioxidant capacity in healthy adults, though no improvements were seen in blood lipid profiles or vascular function. [Source]

Reducing body weight – dark roast vs light roast

• In 2011 Molecular Nutrition & Food Research published a 4-week study of 30 subjects which found that dark roast coffee increased glutathione and vitamin E concentrations more than light roast coffee while also reducing body-weight, whereas light roast did not lead to changes in body-weight. [Source]

Reduced pancreatic cancer risk

• In 2016 the Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences published a met-analysis of 20 studies for which the data showed that individuals with the highest coffee consumption had a 25 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer compared to those with the lowest coffee consumption. [Source]
• In 2011 the World Journal of Gastroenterology published a meta-analysis of 14 studies including 671,080 individuals which found that regular coffee drinkers had an 18 percent lower risk of pancreatic cancer and heavy coffee drinkers had a 32 percent lower risk compared to non coffee drinkers. [Source]

Liver cancer

• In 2007 Gastroenterology published a meta-analysis of 9 studies involving 241,406 individuals which found that, compared to drinking no coffee, consuming 2 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 43 percent reduced risk of liver cancer. [Source]

Coffee – No association with lung cancer

• In 2016 Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention published a meta-analysis of 21 studies to determine whether coffee consumption is related to lung cancer risk (as determined in previous studies). The combined data showed that coffee was not related to an increased risk of lung cancer – but that results in previous studies were likely confounded by tobacco smoking. [Source]

Reduced all-cause mortality

• In 2014 the American Journal of Epidemiology published a meta-analysis of 21 studies including 997,464 participants which found that 4 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 16 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality and 3 cups per day was associated with a 21 percent reduction in cardiovascular mortality. [Source]
• In 2012 the New England Journal of Medicine published a study based on 402,260 individuals in the NIH AARP Diet and Health Study which found that 4-5 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 12-16 percent reduced risk of all-cause mortality. [Source]
• In 2015 the American Journal of Epidemiology published a study based on 90,317 individuals which found that 4-5 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 21 percent reduced risk of overall mortality. The authors note that the reduced risk may be due to a reduction in inflammation and insulin sensitivity, among other factors. [Source]
• In 2015 Public Health Nutrition published a meta-analysis of 17 studies including 1,054,571 participants which found that 1 to 3 cups of coffee per day was associated with and 11 percent reduction in all-cause mortality and 3 to 5 cups was associated with a 13 percent reduction. [Source]
• In 2015 the European Journal of Epidemiology published a study which found that in women over fifty, 2-5 cups of coffee per day was associated with a 26 percent reduced risk of mortality while greater than 5 cups/day was associated with a 14 percent reduced risk. [Source]

Reduced inflammation

• In 2006 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study based on 730 healthy women and 663 women with type 2 diabetes which showed that decaffeinated coffee reduced inflammation in healthy women while caffeinated coffee reduced inflammation markers in women with diabetes. [Source]
• In 2006 The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition published a study of 41,836 postmenopausal women found that coffee consumption significantly reduced cardiovascular risk in addition to reducing the risk of other inflammatory diseases. [Source]

Parkinson’s disease

• In 2013 Neurotherapeutics published an animal study in which mice induced with Parkinson’s disease were fed a diet containing an anti-inflammatory compound present in coffee known as eicosanoyl-5-hydroxytryptamide (EHT). The results showed that mice fed EHT exhibited preservation of neurons and overall strong protection against Parkinson’s disease. [Source]

Anti-aging

• In 2016 The Journal of Nutrition published a study based on 4,780 female nurses which found that higher coffee consumption and greater caffeine intake in general was associated with longer telomeres – a predictor of longevity. [Source]

Reduced prostate cancer risk

• In 2014 Cancer Causes and Control published a meta-analysis of 21 studies involving 472,196 subjects which found that compared with the lowest category of coffee consumption, the highest category showed a significant reduction in prostate cancer risk. The data showed that 4 or more cups of coffee per day may associated with a reduced risk of prostate cancer, including high-grade, fatal prostate cancer. [Source]