A study comparing drinkers of about 3,5 cups of coffee a day with other people who didn't drink coffee at all showed the former had much less chance of suffering from Parkinson's in the future. Nevertheless, a second study found an inverse relationship between the amount of coffee drunk regularly and the risk of suffering from Parkinson's. [1], [2]

A study by the University of British Columbia in Canada and the Harvard Medical School in Boston revealed that coffee helps reduce the risk of suffering from gout. The team analysed data from research into American health and nutrition carried out between 1988 and 1994. The research was based on questionnaires put to about 50,000 men between 40 and 75 years old, with no previous history of gout. 

The participants completed detailed questionnaires about their eating and drinking habits. After 12 years of evaluation, during which time 757 men developed gout, the risk was less for those who drank more coffee. When the participants in the study drank four or five cups of coffee, there was a 40% reduction in developing the complaint.

The men who drank decaffeinated coffee also benefitted but tea didn't appear to have an effect. Researchers also demonstrated that there was a significantly lower level of uric acid in the blood of people who drank alot of coffee.  

Coffee increases the efficiency of analgesics, especially those acting against headache, and it can also alleviate asthma in some people. This is the reason why some aspirin manufacturers also include a small dose of cafeine in the pill.  

Drinking coffee can reduce by half the risk of diabetes mellitus type II. Although initially it is cited as occurring amongst patients who drank alot (7 cups a day), it was later demonstrated that the relationship is lineal (Salazar-Martínez 2004).

Some of the beneficiary effects can be limited to gender. For example, it has been demonstrated to reduce the appearance of gallstones and gallbladder illnesses amongst men.

Moreover, according to several studies made public in March 2006, coffee drinkers who have four or more cups of coffee a day have a risk of cirrosis five times less than those who don't drink coffee, whilst the risk of death from cirrosis is reduced by 30 per cent amongst those patients who drink alot of coffee. It can also redude the risk of hepatocellular carcimona, a type of liver cancer (Inoue, 2005).

Research carried out over 12 years in Finland (the country with the record for coffee consumption, with an average of nine cups per adult per day) by the National Institute of Public Health in Helsinki on 14,600 adults between the ages of 35 and 64 with no previous history of cardiovascular illness has just released its startling conclusions, which it's own scientists have failed to explain. It would seem that the higher the consumption of coffee, the greater the tendency for diabetes type II to diminish.

Coffee also reduces the incidence of cardiopathic illnesses, although it's not known if this is simply because it frees the excess fat or if it is due to its stimulant effect.

In the annual meeting of the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C., on 28^th August 2005, Joe Vinson, a chemist from Scranton University, presented his analysis that showed that for Americans, who in general do not eat much fresh fruit and vegetables, coffee represents the greatest and most valuable source of antioxidants in their daily diet.

Research from Iowa Women's Health demonstrated that women who drank coffee suffered fewer episodes of cardiovascular illnesses and had less probabilities of suffering from cancer than the general population. For women who drank 6 or more cups the benefits were even greater.

Coffee is also a potent peristaltic stimulator and on occasion is considered to help avoid constipation.  

Many people drink coffee for its ability to increase short-term memory and to help the intelligence quotient.

Furthermore, in tests studying simple reaction times, the reaction time when choosing, incidental verbal memory and visual-spatial reasoning, the participants who drank coffee regularly carried out the tests better, with a positive relationship between the test scores and the quantity of coffee drunk on a regular basis.

The most notable effect associated with drinking coffee regularly was seen amongst the older participants. Another study found that women over 80 completed the cognitive tests much better if they had been regular coffee drinkers throughout their lives.

People's metabolisms also change, in such a way that our bodies convert a greater proportion of liquids into carbohydrates, which helps athletes avoid muscular fatigue.

Some of these effects on our health are observable from drinking only 4 cups a day (700 ml), but others require 5 or more cups a day (0,95 litres or more).