If you sometimes feel like health advice always involves giving up something you love, you’re going to be over the moon about what I have to tell you today. Especially if you’re a real coffee fan.

Coffee has long been a staple in the American home, but it’s more popular today than ever before. Java’s definitely not just for breakfast anymore, and considering its health benefits that’s a good thing.

I’ve written before about the many ways coffee may be able to help you stay healthy.

Coffee could reduce Parkinson’s risk by 31%

In a meta-analysis of 37 studies from across the globe researchers from Portugal concluded that several cups of coffee a day could send your risk for Parkinson’s disease plummeting by 31 percent, according to a study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease.

In another study published that same year, University of North Dakota researchers announced that the caffeine in coffee appears to have a protective effect against Alzheimer’s (dementia) and Parkinson’s disease.

Some experts theorize that the caffeine may help preserve the blood-brain barrier, while others point to antioxidant content or other nutrients in the brew.

Coffee drinking drops diabetes risk by half

And the evidence has been stacking up for years that coffee could help head off diabetes. Studies have found that folks who down four of more cups of coffee a day have a 50 percent lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For every cup beyond four the research shows your risk can drop another 7 percent.

Those earlier studies were echoed by one in 2014 that found that regular coffee drinkers who began drinking one extra cup of coffee a day dropped their  diabetes risk by an additional 11 percent.

Check out this video for some additional details…

Coffee not linked to heart problems

And despite the rumblings that you may have heard (sometimes from your well-meaning friends and family) about coffee being bad for your heart, research shows that—on the contrary—coffee drinking is associated with a lower risk of heart disease.

For example, in a study published in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure moderate coffee drinking was linked to an 11 percent lower risk of heart failure.

And Swedish researchers debunked the myth that coffee drinking is linked to the irregular heartbeat condition known as atrial fibrillation in a huge 12-year-long study published in the journal BMC Medicine.

Reduce your colon cancer risk by 50%!

And now a new study just published in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention has added colon cancer to the list of diseases that coffee can help fight off. The large study, which included over 9,000 adults, found that coffee drinking was linked to a significant drop in colon cancer risk.

In fact, according to Dr. Stephen Gruber, director of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and senior author of the study, the more  coffee you drink the lower your risk drops. If you’re drinking two and a half cups daily your risk plummets by an incredible 50 percent.

But if you aren’t drinking nearly a pot a day don’t worry, the study finds even moderate coffee drinking—a cup or two a day—still lowers colon cancer risk by an impressive 26 percent.

And there’s even good news for folks who prefer decaf or instant. The research says they too  offer the protection

In this case it’s apparently the antioxidants in coffee, as well as the brew’s ability to help keep you regularly moving your bowels, that make it such a great colon-cancer fighter.

But keep in mind those sugary concoctions you’re picking up at the Starbucks drive-through don’t count here. The terrible health effects of all that sugar far outweigh any benefits you could get from the coffee in those drinks.

To get all of coffee’s disease-fighting benefits train yourself to drink it black instead. And if you prefer decaf go right ahead, because researchers say the unleaded java reduced colon cancer risk too.

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Dr. Glenn Rothfeld

Dr. Rothfeld has practiced integrative medicine for over 35 years. He operates the renowned Rothfeld Center for Integrative Medicine in Waltham, Mass., and is constantly scouring the globe looking for the latest advances in natural health. An author and lecturer, he developed one of the nation’s first college courses on Alternative Medicine for the world-class Tufts University. And he was named a fellow at Harvard University’s prestigious Channing Laboratory. His best-selling book Thyroid Balance has brought people from all over the world to his practice. Dr. Rothfeld’s specialties include the diagnosis and treatment of thyroid disorders and chronic illnesses including autoimmune disorders, adrenal fatigue, heavy metal toxicity, oncology, and chronic fatigue syndrome. He also treats people who have been previously misdiagnosed including some of the most intricate cases. Dr. Rothfeld’s treatments include acupuncture, nutrient infusion, chelation, and the prescription of herbal supplements. As an author of nine books and editor of his own newsletter Nutrition & Healing, Dr. Rothfeld has helped thousands of patients find solutions on everything from thyroid disorders to back pain.

Latest posts by Dr. Glenn Rothfeld (see all)

• Q&A: Can vitamin C really kill cancer cells? - October 1, 2016
• Q&A: Have they really removed the mercury in vaccines? - September 11, 2016
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