Does coffee actually cause dehydration?

Coffee has long been blamed for dehydration due to the fact that caffeine is a mild diuretic. But experts suggest that such a drink can help with hydration, contributing to daily fluid intake. During Nutrition and Hydration Week, which started March 21 and goes on till Friday, members of the British Coffee Association, an organisation of the coffee industry in Britain, addressed the common
misconception that people have about coffee.
According to their latest findings, caffeine, at levels consumed moderately throughout the day, is no more a diuretic than plain water, reports femalefirst.co.uk. According to other British expert bodies such as the British Nutrition Foundation, moderate coffee consumption (up to four to five cups per day) can contribute to daily fluid intake and help to keep coffee consumers alert and hydrated. They also say that drinking a variety of caffeinated beverages, including coffee, can contribute to meeting the body’s requirement of fluids.
‘Many people still wrongly believe that hot drinks, and particularly coffee, are not good for us because they are dehydrating. But in fact when you drink a cup of coffee all the water is absorbed and retained in the body adding to your hydration,’ said health expert Sarah Schenker.
Potential health benefits of coffee:
1. Good for your heart
Scientists say green tea and coffee, if made a regular part of the diet, could benefit the heart, according to
research conducted in Japan and published in the US. Green tea and coffee may help lower your risk of having a stroke, especially when both are a regular part of your diet, according to research published in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association. ‘This is the first large-scale study to examine the combined effects of both green tea and coffee on stroke risks,’ said Yoshihiro Kokubo, lead author of the study at Japan’s National Cerebral and Cardiovascular Centre.  ‘You may make a small but positive lifestyle change to help lower the risk of stroke by adding daily green tea to your diet.’
2. Could prevent autoimmune liver disease! 
Research has shown that regular coffee drinkers are at a reduced risk of primary sclerosing cholangitis  - an autoimmune liver disease. PSC is an inflammatory disease of the bile ducts that results in inflammation and subsequent fibrosis that can lead to cirrhosis of the liver, liver failure and biliary cancer. Study author Craig Lammert, M.D., a Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist said, ‘While rare, PSC has extremely detrimental effects.’
3. Could reduce risk of suicide! 
A study suggested that having two to four cups of coffee every day can reduce the risk of suicide among men and women by 50 per cent. The finding was reached after researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health reviewed data from three previous US studies. They found that the risk of suicide amongst adults, drinking
5. It’s residue is a valuable source of antioxidants
Traditionally used coffee grounds – the muck left behind in your percolator after brewing coffee -have been considered as wastes and thrown away, or occasionally used as garden fertilizer . Scientists believe that these residues are a valuable source of bioactive compounds for producing dietary supplements.
6. Could prevent prostate cancer and womb cancer!
A study by Harvard University said that women who drink four to six cups of coffee a day are less likely to suffer from womb cancer, while men who drink the same amount are less likely to suffer from prostate cancer. The researchers studied 117,000 volunteers — 67,000 women and 50,000 men over a 20-year period, the Daily Mail reported. The effects were
seen regardless of whether the people drank regular or decaffeinated coffee. This suggested the effects are not linked to caffeine.
7. Could prevent your liver from alcohol damage
A new research suggests that heavy alcohol users who drink a lot of coffee could actually be protecting their livers! Heavy coffee consumption may protect against liver damage in men who drink alcohol, a new study has claimed. Researchers asked nearly 19,000 Finnish men and women between ages 25 and 74 about their coffee and alcohol consumption.
8. Could help prevent diabetes
According to researchers at UCLA coffee increases plasma levels of a protein called SHBG which regulates the levels of the sex hormones testosterone and oestrogen which in turn have a role in development of type 2 diabetes. Moderate consumption of coffee can help stave the diabetes risk although earlier there were some researches which were ambiguous about its effect on other diseases like cancer.
9. Could improve your memory and decrease your waistline!
If you are one of those who always wished to have a strong memory power or remained worried due to increasing waistline, the solution lies in eating less and taking a cup of coffee in everyday life, a new study has suggested. recent studies have also shown that coffee cuts the risk of diabetes. Researchers have found eating less could help you remember more and skipping dessert and having an after-dinner coffee instead could also be good for your brain as well as the waistline, the Daily Mail reported