"When I was a kid my parents refused to let me drink coffee because they believed it would stunt my growth. It turns out of course that this is a myth http_rmoduleinline. Studies have failed again and again to show that coffee or caffeine consumption are related to reduced bone mass or how tall people are. Coffee has long had a reputation http as being unhealthy. But in almost every single respect that reputation is backward. The potential health benefits are surprisingly large. When I set out to look at the research on coffee and health I thought Id see it being associated with some good outcomes and some bad ones mirroring the contradictory reports you can often find in the news media. This didnt turn out to be the case. Just last year a systematic review and metaanalysis of studies looking at longterm consumption of coffee and the risk of cardiovascular disease was published httpcirc.ahajournals.orgcontent.long. The researchers found  studies involving more than  participants. The combined data showed that those who consumed a moderate amount of coffee about three to five cups a day were at the lowest risk for problems. Those who consumed five or more cups a day had no higher risk than those who consumed none.  Of course everything Im saying here concerns coffee  black coffee. I am not talking about the mostly milk and sugar coffeebased beverages that lots of people consume. These could include http_healthtworstcoffeedrinksamerica but arent limited to things like a McDonalds large mocha http_nutrition.mccafe..mccafemochalarge.html  calories  grams of fat  grams of carbohydrates a Starbucks Venti White Chocolate Mocha http  calories  grams of fat  grams of carbs and a Large Dunkin Donuts frozen caramel coffee Coolatta http_caramel.htmlDRP_DAIRYWholeMilkDRP_SIZELargeDRP_FLAVORCaramelDRP_BLENDFrozenCoffee  calories  grams of fat  grams of carbs. I wont even mention the Cold Stone Creamery GottaHaveItSized Lotta Caramel Latte https  calories  grams of fat  grams of carbs. Regular brewed coffee http has  or fewer calories and no fat or carbohydrates. Back to the studies. Years earlier a metaanalysis  a study of studies in which data are pooled and analyzed together  was published looking at how coffee consumption might be associated with stroke httpaje.oxfordjournals.orgcontent.long. Eleven studies were found including almost  participants. As with the prior studies consumption of two to six cups of coffee a day was associated with a lower risk of disease compared with those who drank none. Another metaanalysis published a year later http confirmed these findings. Rounding out concerns about the effect of coffee on your heart another metaanalysis examined how drinking coffee might be associated with heart failure httpcircheartfailure.ahajournals.orgcontent.long. Again moderate consumption was associated with a lower risk with the lowest risk among those who consumed four servings a day. Consumption had to get up to about  cups a day before any bad associations were seen. No one is suggesting you drink more coffee for your health. But drinking moderate amounts of coffee is linked to lower rates of pretty much all cardiovascular disease contrary to what many might have heard about the dangers of coffee or caffeine. Even consumers on the very high end of the spectrum appear to have minimal if any ill effects.   But lets not cherrypick. There are outcomes outside of heart health that matter. Many believe that coffee might be associated with an increased risk of cancer. Certainly individual studies httptheincidentaleconomist.comwordpresstheresareasoniusesystematicreviewsandmetaanalyses have found that to be the case and these are sometimes highlighted by the news media. But in the aggregate most of these negative outcomes disappear. A metaanalysis published in  found that increasing coffee consumption by two cups a day was associated with a lower relative risk of liver cancer http by more than  percent. Two more http recent studies http confirmed these findings. Results from metaanalyses looking at prostate cancer httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi.j.X...xabstract found that in the higherquality studies coffee consumption was not associated with negative outcomes httpannonc.oxfordjournals.orgcontent.long. The same http holds true httpjournals.plos.orgplosonearticleid.journal.pone. for breast cancer http where associations were statistically not significant. Its true that the data on lung cancer http shows an increased risk for more coffee consumed but thats only among people who smoke. Drinking coffee may be protective in those who dont. Regardless the authors of that study hedge their results and warn that they should be interpreted with caution because of the confounding and most likely overwhelming effects of smoking. A study looking at all cancers http suggested that it might be associated with reduced overall cancer incidence and that the more you drank the more protection was seen. Drinking coffee is associated with better laboratory values in those at risk for liver disease httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi.liv.abstract. In patients who already have liver disease its associated with a decreased progression to cirrhosis. In patients who already have cirrhosis its associated with a lower risk of death and a lower risk of developing liver cancer. Its associated with improved responses to antiviral therapy in patients with hepatitis C and better outcomes in patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The authors of the systematic review argue that daily coffee consumption should be encouraged httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi.liv.abstract in patients with chronic liver disease. The most recent metaanalyses on neurological disorders found that coffee intake was associated with lower risks of Parkinsons disease httponlinelibrary.wiley.comdoi.ggi.abstract lower cognitive decline httpadvances.nutrition.orgcontent.long and a potential protective effect against Alzheimers disease httpweb.a.ebscohost.comehostdetaildetailsiddfdffdaffebdaebsessionmgrvidhidbdataJnNpdGUZWhvcQtbGlZQdd but certainly no harm. A systematic review published in  httpjama.jamanetwork.comarticle.aspxarticleid found that regular coffee consumption was associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing Type  diabetes with the lowest relative risks about a third reduction seen in those who drank at least six or seven cups a day. The latest study published in  httpcare.diabetesjournals.orgcontent.abstract used updated data and included  studies and more than . million participants. Again the more coffee you drank the less likely you were to have diabetes. This included both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee."