7-year long study of 170,000 people: Drinking coffee every day delayed death

New research has found that even moderately sugary coffee can help reduce all-cause mortality , but large amounts should not be consumed. (Photo: BRAIN2HANDS/Shutterstock)

Researchers surveyed 171,616 participants in the UK up to five times a year about their lifestyle, including their coffee drinking habits. Then, on average every seven years, the scientists would survey the death certificates to see which people had passed away. 

The participants were between the ages of 37 and 73, and everyone was free of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the start of the survey.

Christina Wee, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and associate editor of the Annals of Internal Medicine, told CNN that the study results show that people drink a moderate amount of coffee (defined as 1.5 to 3.5 cups per day), whether plain black or sweetened with a small amount of sugar, had an approximately 30% lower risk of death compared with non-coffee drinkers. 

She added that unsweetened coffee drinkers had a 16% to 29% lower risk of death than non-coffee drinkers. 

Associate Professor Wee was not involved in the study, she commented that the study results were adjusted for demographic, lifestyle and clinical factors, to eliminate the influence of other factors. this. For example, the team asked questions related to smoking levels, physical activity levels, education levels, and eating habits. 

She found that the researchers' adjustment was limited because they did not ask about other factors that might have influenced the results, such as income level and occupation. 

Coffee has a strong flavor. 

Recently, Dr. Janette Nesheisat, medical associate of Fox News also discussed the findings of this study in the column 'Fox & Friends Weekend'.

Dr Nesheisat said that people can 'reduce the risk of dangerous diseases' by drinking coffee. Plus, she says : 'when you feel better, you live longer '.

She added : 'Coffee has more than 1,000 chemical components', including 'antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents'.

'Drinking coffee can help prevent heart disease, and it can also help fight cancer and even Parkinson's disease,' she says. These are also the benefits that research has revealed. 

In addition, recent studies have found that coffee can even reduce the 'propensity' to commit suicide. 

Dr Nesheisat says: ' A cup of coffee contains about 90-100 mg of caffeine and the maximum daily intake should be 400 mg.'

Referring to maximum intake, Dr. Nesheisat points out that coffee drinkers need to be concerned about the type of coffee they drink, the method of roasting the coffee, and the brewing process. In general, don't overdose on coffee, which means you shouldn't have more than 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day. 

'For some people who don't drink a lot of coffee (relatively speaking), they might have a little more anxiety and a little bit of heart palpitations,' Dr Nesheisat said. 

Pale milk can be added to coffee to enhance the flavor of the coffee. (Image: Shutterstock)

According to the study, participants reported that they drank regular coffee with sugar and put an average of 1 teaspoon (tsp) of sugar in each cup of coffee. Associate Professor Christina Wee said: 'If you just add about 1 teaspoon of sugar to your coffee, I don't think the benefits of coffee will be completely lost because of this 1 teaspoon of sugar.' 

And Dr. Nesheisat said that adding sweeteners (sugar substitutes do not contain calories) to coffee is not a good idea. Coffee can also keep some people from sleeping at night, she said. 

According to new research, drinking decaffeinated coffee every day will have almost the same effect. 

Gunter Kuhnle, a professor of nutrition and food science at the University of Reading, UK, who was not involved in the study, told CNN that different types of coffee also have different effects on health. health, depending on how the coffee is produced. 

Some coffees contain healthy phenolic compounds, he said.

These compounds influence the taste and aroma of coffee because they act as antioxidants and have anti-inflammatory and anti-aging properties. 

According to CNN, in the two most popular coffee varieties, Arabica and Robusta, research shows that Robusta has a higher phenolic content than Arabica. 

Roasted coffee beans will be very aromatic, but depending on the degree of roasting, some phenolic compounds (good for health) can be broken down. (Image: Wikipedia)

Unroasted green coffee beans contain many phenolic compounds but have no aroma. Roasted coffee beans will be very fragrant, but depending on the degree of roasting, some phenolic compounds can be broken down.