Drinking 3 Cups of Coffee A Day Reduces Mortality Risk
Drinking 2-3 cups of coffee a day may help to reduce the risk mortality associated with cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, and type 2 diabetes, according to a recent study.
Previous research has been inconsistent in determining the effects of coffee consumption on health and risk of death.
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To further examine these associations, researchers assessed data from participants in 3 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, using validated food questionnaires to assess coffee drinking habits in participants every 4 years.
During 30 years of follow-up, 19,524 women and 12,434 men died.
Overall, researchers found that those participants who reported drinking moderate amounts of coffee (2 to 5 cups a day) had lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, and type 2 diabetes.
The benefits were observed in participants who drank both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee, suggestion that natural compounds found within coffee are involved with the health benefits.
“Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation,” researchers wrote. “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.”
Researchers noted that their study are not designed to show direct cause and effect, and should be interpreted with caution.
—Michael Potts
Reference:
- Higdon JV, Frei B. Coffee and health: a review of recent human research. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2006;46(2):101-23.
- American Heart Association. Moderate coffee drinking may be linked to reduced risk of death [press release]. November 16, 2015. http://newsroom.heart.org/news/moderate-coffee-drinking-may-be-linked-to-reduced-risk-of-death?preview=e607.