Coffee link to reduced risk of premature mortality
Tuesday November 17th, 2015
Drinking three or four cups of coffee a day is linked to reduced risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and neurological diseases, researchers claimed today.
The
US-based findings, reported in the journal Circulation,
apply to caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and also suggest reduced
risk of death from suicide or type 2 diabetes.
The findings apply after factors such as smoking and drinking are taken into account - but the researchers also found that coffee drinkers are more likely than others to use tobacco or alcohol.
British experts said the findings merely confirmed that coffee drinking is safe.
The findings come from an analysis of data about nearly 170,000 female nurses and 40,000 male health professionals.
Somme 19,500 women and 12,400 men died during the 30 years involved in the analysis.
Researcher Professor Frank Hu, of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, Massachusetts, said: “Regular consumption of coffee can be included as part of a healthy, balanced diet. However, certain populations such as pregnant women and children should be cautious about high caffeine intake from coffee or other beverages.”
Fellow researcher Dr Ming Ding, said: “Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation.
“They might be responsible for the inverse association between coffee and mortality. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.”
But Emily Reeve, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “Previous research suggests that drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is not harmful your cardiovascular health, and this study supports that.
"But more research is needed to fully understand how coffee affects our body and what it is in coffee that may affect a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke.”
Association of Coffee Consumption with Total and Cause-specific Mortality in Three Large Prospective Cohorts Circulation 16 November 2015 [abstract]
Tags: Diabetes | Diet & Food | Heart Health | North America | UK News
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