You know I'm a coffee lover, and that solid research backs up the health benefits of both high-test and decaf coffee (as long as they're brewed with an unbleached filter and served without added sugars or fatty creamers).

But some new information — all good — has emerged recently that's worth looking at.

First: It's a myth that coffee is dehydrating for daily coffee drinkers. A carefully conducted study that appeared in the journal PlosOne found that drinking coffee is as hydrating as drinking water. It’s true that the researchers only looked at guys, but it seems likely that the brew is equally hydrating for coffee-loving females.

Second: Johns Hopkins scientists reported that having two to three 8 oz. servings of black coffee a day can increase life expectancy by more than four years and cut disabilities by six years. How? Coffee lowers the risk of heart failure, liver disease, stroke, Alzheimer's disease, colon cancer, and Parkinson's disease.

Third: A randomized study in the journal Scientific Reports shows that people who drink the most caffeine daily decreased their risk of osteoporosis by 56% compared to those who drink the least. And having just 1 cup to 1.5 cups a day is enough to gain meaningful benefit.

If you can't handle caffeine, decaf still offers benefits. Studies show it helps protect the heart, helps reverse metabolic syndrome (associated with Type 2 diabetes), and improves outcomes from chronic liver disease.

For more foods that can protect you from disease, check out my book "What to Eat When," and discover the brain benefits of 39 other choices presented in "The Great Age Reboot."