It’s official: Drinking 3-5 cups of coffee a day is awesome! Photo courtesy of amenic181 and FreeDigitalPhoto.net.

It’s a good thing I took up drinking coffee in December. Turns out there are lots of health benefits to having a cuppa’ Joe…or 3-5 cups per day.

Not only do you get a boost in metabolism (by 3%-11%), but coffee drinkers have a lower risk of serious diseases like type 2 diabetes, dementia, Parkinson’s disease, cancer and liver disease.

Last week the nation’s top nutrition panel recommended people drink more coffee, citing the minimal health risk with drinking up to 5 cups a day and the overwhelming benefits. Now as readers of this blog, you know I have a big issue with any group identified as the “nation’s top nutrition panel” as they are the bozos that gave us the low-fat diet. But, there is much evidence on coffee’s health benefits…and even a broken clock is right twice a day.

Check out this list of 13 health benefits this magical liquid offers you.

Fat Burning Juice
As I mentioned, coffee can boost your metabolism by 3%-11%. How can this be? It’s the caffeine in your java. Caffeine is one of the key ingredients in fat burning supplements. Hmmmm…maybe it’s time to stop buying that junk and drink and extra cup of coffee?

Of course, coffee isn’t the cure-all for weight loss. You still need to eat right. Plus, the science is still out on whether the fat burning effect diminishes for long-time coffee drinkers.

Just Avoid Those Sugar-Laden Concoctions (I’m Talking About You, Starbucks!)
As for the fat burning part, it only works if you don’t load your coffee up with crap. Yes, I’m talking about going to Starbucks (or any coffee-house) and ordering their sugary drinks. Many of their most popular drinks have more sugar than candy bars.

One of their Mocha Frappuccino Light (with nonfat milk!) has nearly 20g of sugar. For those who love their Caramel Frappuccino sans the whipped cream, you’re consuming 34g of sugar and 40g of carbs.

In my book, you pretty much void the health benefits of coffee when you load up your drink with sugar and carbs. Be warned!

So proudly drink your coffee…just don’t load it up with crap!