I started drinking coffee in high school but before that I never had a reason to.  Coffee helped me wake up and get my day started with energy.  A teacher I had in high school told the class he had a coffee addiction when he worked at his old job before becoming a teacher.  My teacher said that he would drink up to 15-20 cups in a day at work so he had to stop drinking coffee for good.  This is a pretty extreme example of a coffee drinker.

Here are some quick facts about coffee consumption in the United States.  54% of Americans over the age of 18 drink coffee every morning.  The average consumer drinks 3.1 cups of coffee daily.  Also about 18 billion dollars is spent on coffee in the United States annually.

Some current research being done at Harvard University suggest that to a moderate user coffee can provide the drinker with some health benefits.  The risk for type 2 diabetes is lower in people who drink coffee daily.  Also drinking a cup or 2 a day is completely fine for one’s health, it’s when people drink many cups when coffee can have a negative effect on someone’s health.  Another benefit to coffee is it can reduce the risk of developing gallstones, colon cancer, liver damage and Parkinson’s disease.  Drinking too much coffee can lead to heartburn and problems with one’s throat and windpipe.  The key for coffee is drinking it in moderation.  As long as you aren’t drinking too much of it you should be fine and have no bad health risks.  In fact you might even see some aspects of your health improve with coffee.

Sources

http://www.statisticbrain.com/coffee-drinking-statistics/

http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/coffee_health_risk

http://www.webmd.com/diet/coffee-health-benefits-risks-directory