For many reasons, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. A good cup of brew warms you up, soothes the soul and provides a reliable energy boost. Coffee even has incredible powers when it comes to improving your health. In case you needed any more reasons to down that double espresso, here are the top five health benefits of coffee…

1. Coffee kick-starts your energy levels.

Out of all its benefits, coffee’s ability to boost energy levels is the most obvious. People drink coffee to feel less tired because caffeine is a stimulant. When you consume coffee, caffeine that’s absorbed into your bloodstream travels to the brain where it blocks the neurotransmitter adenosine.

By blocking adenosine, caffeine increases brain activity and releases other neurotransmitters like norepinephrine and dopamine. These neurotransmitters reduce fatigue and make us feel more alert. Numerous studies also show that caffeine can lead to a short-term boost in brain function as well as an improved mood, reaction time and general cognitive function.

2. Coffee helps you lose weight.

Not only does drinking coffee help you stay awake, but it can also help you lose weight. That’s because when taken in moderation, coffee leads to a short-term rise in your body’s metabolic rate.

Specifically, the caffeine in coffee jumpstarts the process of lipolysis, which occurs when your body breaks down your fat stores to convert it into energy. In other words, drinking coffee helps you burn fat.

3. Coffee may curb depression.

When it comes to depression, a few cups of coffee a day may keep the blues away. In a ten-year cohort study by Harvard University of more than 50,000 older women, investigators found that those who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 15% decreased risk for depression compared to those who drank one cup or less per week. Similarly, those who drank four cups or more per day had a 20% decreased risk of depression.

4. Coffee fights against diseases.

Believe it or not, coffee can help fight many different diseases. Considered by many as a superfood, coffee is loaded with antioxidants that help cleanse disease-causing toxins from our bodies.

In particular, coffee consumption can fight against Type 2 Diabetes, delay the onset of Alzheimer’s Disease, lower the risk Cardiovascular Disease and protect against cancer.

One study from Keio University in Tokyo found that coffee induces a breast-cancer-resistant protein in cancer cell lines. According to a Swedish study, post-menopausal women who drank coffee had a lowered risk of non-hormone responsive breast cancer. Additional research has found ties between coffee and lower rates of colon, breast and rectal cancer.

5. Coffee can boost your athletic performance.

For athletes, it may sound too good to be true, but coffee can increase concentration, muscle power, reaction time and endurance while decreasing muscle fatigue.

As the New York Times reports, “Scientists and many athletes have known for years, of course, that a cup of coffee before a workout jolts athletic performance, especially in endurance sports like distance running and cycling.”