This Could Be Coffee's Best Benefit
Over the past few years, study after study has suggested that coffee's negative reputation is wholly undeserved. It not only may fight diabetes and several types of cancer but also can boost memory and reduce stress. And, according to a study in the World Journal of Biological Psychiatry, it can literally be life-saving.
The Harvard researchers analyzed data from 200,000 people in three different national surveys. Every four years, they indicated how much coffee and other forms of caffeine they consumed. They also looked at participants' death certificates, finding that 277 of them had committed suicide.
And strangely, there was a huge correlation between cause of death and coffee consumption. People who drank between two and four cups per day were half as likely to die from suicide. The authors chalk this up to the caffeine, since people who drank decaf coffee didn't experience this benefit.
Even if someone's not at risk for suicide, these findings do suggest that coffee can ease symptoms of depression, which makes sense given that it can trigger the release of endorphins in a similar way to antidepressants, the authors write. In fact, another Harvard study found that women in particular were 15 percent less likely to develop depression when they drank at least two cups of coffee per day and 20 percent less likely when they drank at least four cups.
So, basically, coffee is a magical elixir, and you should never feel guilty about drinking it ever.