5 things to know about your morning cup of joe

Coffee may bring health benefits, but not all cups are created equal.

You probably don't think much about your cup of coffee, aside from the fact that it helps you get moving in the morning. But there's a lot to know about this common brew. A recent review article published July 23, 2020, in The New England Journal of Medicine looked at how coffee can affect health, and it outlined some interesting findings.

1. Coffee won't harm your heart, and it may even help it. Research has found that not only is coffee not bad for your heart, it might actually be beneficial. "If women are consuming a moderate amount of coffee — up to five 8-ounce cups a day — they do not have to be concerned that it will increase their risk of heart disease or stroke," says Rob van Dam, the review's first author and an adjunct professor of nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "There may even be some benefits, particularly for reducing risk of type 2 diabetes, which is a risk factor for heart disease and stroke."