Many people begin their mornings with a nice cup of coffee. Besides waking them up, studies are showing coffee may do more than just give you a jolt. It could be good for your overall health.

Elliot Moreno has always had a taste for coffee.

“My first official coffee drink was when I was like, a few years old. I took my mom's espresso brewer, and I had some coffee, and I’ve been jumping off the walls ever since,” Moreno said.

Moreno is not only a coffee lover, he’s also a maker.

“It's like mixing my two favorite things, like meeting people and making coffee, which I find amazing in every sense,” Moreno said.

So it came as a welcome surprise when this barista found out his coffee addiction may actually be a good thing.

“They're mesmerizing. It's very interesting to not know that, like coffee could be so prevalent in my health while drinking it for so long,” Moreno said.

According to research from the American College of Cardiology, drinking two to three cups of coffee per day was associated with a 10 to 15% decrease in heart conditions, such as coronary heart disease and heart failure.

Dr. Anila Khaliq is a physician of more than 20 years. She is currently with Garnet Health Doctors in Middletown. She is also a coffee drinker and said there are other strong studies linking coffee to a decreased risk of Parkinson’s disease and increased lifespan.

“Coffee by itself has an agent in it, which is called chlorogenic acid, which is a very powerful antioxidant, and it helps to it prevents the damage of DNA by the free radicals,” Khaliq said.

But keep in mind, the health benefits can be dampened by what’s also in your coffee. Added sweeteners and other fats in coffee flavorings can negate the health benefits.

Khaliq believes it’s okay for people to drink two to four cups of coffee per day, while going easy on the additives.

“Coffee is an avid part of, especially western culture. You have a cup of coffee in the morning, and I feel like the more that people are aware of these health benefits, the healthier that people can be by doing an idle task that they are probably going to do anyway in the morning,” Moreno said.

Johns Hopkins Medicine also said coffee consumers are less likely to suffer from colorectal cancer, a stroke, Alzheimer’s disease or type 2 diabetes.