There are plenty of reasons why you should drink coffee and probably just as many reasons not to. Let's start with the pros. The American Heart Association has linked drinking coffee to a lower risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease and stroke. Two separate studies published in 2017 also linked coffee to living a longer life. In general, coffee drinkers have been known to have lower rates of certain cancers, including skin, colon, endometrial and prostate cancer.