Health Benefits of Caffeine

Caffeine is the most widely used substance on the planet. Are there health benefits from caffeine or is most of the world just poisoning themselves?

We’ve dug through our archives and put together a list of some of the possible caffeine health benefits according to different studies that have been conducted over the years.

10+ Caffeine Health Benefits

1.    In Japan researchers have shown that caffeine increases memory. Also, a newer study out of Johns Hopkins University showed that a 200mg caffeine pill helped boost memory consolidation.

2.    Caffeine mixed with carbs replenishes muscle glycogen concentrations faster after exercise.

3.    Caffeine detoxes the liver and cleanses the colon when taken as acaffeine enema.

4.    Caffeine is better than sleep when you need to be alert while driving.

5.    Caffeine can stimulate hair growth on balding men and women.

6.    Caffeine relieves post work-out muscle pain by up to 48%.

7.    Caffeine helps ward off Alzheimer’s.

8.    Caffeine can ease depression by increasing dopamine in the brain.

9.    Caffeine increases stamina during exercise.

10. Caffeine protects against eyelid spasm.

11. Caffeine may protect against Cataracts.

12. Caffeine may prevent skin cancer. A new study out of Rutgers University found that caffeine prevented skin cancer in hairless mice.

13. People who consume caffeine have a lower risk of suicide. Src.

14. Caffeine may reduce fatty liver in those with non-alcohol related fatty liver disease. This study comes out of Duke University.

15. Caffeine consuming men showed increased semen volume and significantly less sperm DNA fragmentation than non-caffeine consuming men. Src.

There can be negative health consequences from consuming too much caffeine, so don’t go too crazy. Also some of the benefits of caffeine have only been researched within the context of caffeinated coffee.

Here are some further health benefits when the caffeine is consumed via coffee. It is also interesting that these benefits didn’t carry over to those that drank decaffeinated coffee.

Caffeinated Coffee Health Benefits

1.    Caffeinated coffee cuts mouth and throat cancer risk by 50%.

2.    Coffee can reduce risk of stroke as much as 22%.

3.    Shown to reduce the risk of several types of cancer.

4.    Heart rhythm disturbance hospitalizations decrease with coffee drinkers.

5.    Coffee decreases risk of type 2 diabetes.

6.    Caffeinated Coffee may help with weight loss. Research out of Melbourne, Australia is finding that study participants are reporting decreased appetite when drinking regular coffee as opposed to decaf or caffeine tablets as part of an ongoing study.

7.    People who drink at least 4 coffees or teas have lower blood pressure according to a new study out of Paris. Tea drinkers had the most blood pressure benefit, while coffee drinkers had just slightly less.

8.    Research out of Greece shows that Greek boiled coffee may increase longevity and heart health.

While this list might seem like a green light for caffeine consumption, it does come with a few caveats. In most cases the caffeine health benefits were realized by those who consumed moderate coffee/caffeine amounts. Also in some of the studies above, the caffeine was concentrated and applied directly to the body area being researched, i.e. cataracts and baldness etc.. Therefore, dietary caffeine would not produce the same results.

We can conclude that caffeine consumed via natural sources is probably the best since many of the health benefits of caffeine are probably largely due to the high antioxidant levels found in regular coffee and tea.