Tuesday, 8 December 2015
Benefit in drinking moderate coffee
Moderate coffee drinking may be linked to reduced risk of death;
People who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee daily
--less than 5 cups per day -- experienced a lower risk of deaths from cardiovascular
disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide. The benefit held
true for drinking caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggesting it's not
just the caffeine providing health perks but possibly the naturally occurring chemical
compounds in the coffee beans.
Drinking a second or third cup of coffee may do more than
get you through a long day -- it may also reduce your risk of death from heart
disease and other illnesses. In a study reported in the American Heart Association
journal Circulation, people who regularly drank moderate amounts of coffee
daily --less than 5 cups per day -- experienced a lower risk of deaths from
cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, Type 2 diabetes and suicide.
The benefit held true for drinking caffeinated and decaffeinated
coffee, suggesting it's not just the caffeine providing health perks but
possibly the naturally occurring chemical compounds in the coffee beans.
"Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance
and systematic inflammation," said Ming Ding, M.D., the study's first
author and doctoral student at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in
Boston, Massachusetts. "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." The
findings are based on data from three large ongoing studies: 74,890 women in
the Nurses' Health Study; 93,054 women in the Nurses' Health Study 2; and
40,557 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study. Researchers assessed
coffee drinking every four years using validated food questionnaires and followed
participants for up to 30 years. During the follow-up period, 19,524 women and
12,432 men died from a range of causes. In general, people who frequently drank
coffee were more likely to smoke and drink alcohol. To separate the effects of
coffee from smoking, researchers repeated their analysis among never- smokers,
and found that the protective benefits of coffee on deaths became even more
evident. "Regular consumption of coffee can be included as part of a healthy,
balanced diet," said senior author Frank Hu, M.D., Ph.D., a Professor of Nutrition
and Epidemiology at Harvard. "However, certain populations such as
pregnant women and children should be cautious about high caffeine intake from
coffee or other beverages."
The study was not designed to show a direct cause and effect
relationship between coffee consumption and dying from illness. So the findings
should be interpreted with caution, researchers said. One potential drawback of
the study design was that participants were asked to report how much coffee
they drank, however researchers found the assessment to be reliable. Previous
studies found inconsistent associations between coffee drinking and risk of
total and cause-specific death. This study adds to the literature that moderate
coffee consumption may confer health benefits. However, more research is needed
to determine how coffee affects the body and whether different types of coffee
may play a role.
Other co-authors are Ambika Satija, B.A.; Shilpa
N. Bhupathiraju, M.D.; Yang Hu, M.S.; Qi Sun,
M.D., D.Sc.; Jiali Han, D.Sc. ; Esther Lopez-
Garcia, Ph.D. ; Walter Willett, M.D., Dr.PH.; and
Rob van Dam, Ph.D.
The National Institutes of Health funded the study.
Source: Science Daily (www.sciencedaily.com)
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