Coffee is arguably one of the most highly consumed beverages in the world. Some people cannot go a day without at least a cup of coffee. Although its caffeine content may present side effects such as increased heart rate, dizziness and insomnia, a new study has shown that moderate consumption of coffee can reduce the risk of dying.
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Coffee and longevity
The research findings, published in The Annals of Internal Medicine last Monday, suggest that drinking between 1.5 and 3.5 cups of coffee in a day lowers the chances of death among drinkers by 30%. The team established that coffee lovers could still reap this benefit by 16% to 21% even if they like theirs with sugar.
However, the research did not determine the impact of artificial sweeteners on coffee-related longevity. According to the New York Times, the team of researchers based their analysis on the data collected on more than 170,000 people aged between 37 and 73 over a seven-year period.
The news outlet quoted deputy editor of the journal and associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, Dr Christina Wee as saying:
It’s huge. There are very few things that reduce your mortality by 30 percent.
Limitations
Although this research supports previous studies establishing the health benefits of coffee, including reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and Parkinson’s, it could not determine that coffee in itself is responsible for lower risk of dying. This is partly because it was an observational analysis.
Also, the association between coffee and longevity could have more to do with other lifestyle choices of the subjects observed rather their consumption of coffee. A clinical associate professor of medicine at the N.Y.U. Grossman School of Medicine Dr Eric Goldberg theorized that it could be because people who drink coffee are less inclined to consume other beverages such as soda.
If you’re pounding Mountain Dew or Coca-Cola or Red Bull or all these other drinks, they have tons more sugar, all the artificial stuff — versus coffee, which is a generally unprocessed food.
Despite the established benefits of drinking coffee, the study cautions that it should be drank in moderation as too much caffeine may have harmful health consequences.
Read more:
⋙ Heart disease: Drinking at least 2 cups of coffee a day can reduce the risk
⋙ How drinking coffee can increase your sexual performance
⋙ Mint, cheese, coffee: Here are 6 foods that are killing your sex drive
