The list of potential health benefits from regular coffee consumption continues to grow. Long story short, it seems like our daily cups of coffee help our health (physical and mental) overall:
“In our study, we found people who drank three to five cups of coffee per day had about a 15 percent lower [risk of premature] mortality compared to people who didn’t drink coffee,” says one of the study authors, nutrition researcher Walter Willett of the Harvard School of Public Health. Decaf drinkers also saw benefits.
The findings, published in the journal Circulation, build on a body of evidence linking a coffee habit to potential health benefits.
As we’ve reported, previous research has pointed to a decreased risk of stroke. And, there’s some evidence that a coffee habit cuts the risk of Type 2 diabetes, too.
A Q&A with one of the researchers on the study highlighted some aspects of the research and coffee consumption:
So, what do you think might explain this association? In the study, you point to compounds in coffee — such as lignans, quinides and magnesium — that may help reduce insulin resistance and inflammation. Prior studies have pointed to these as well.
We’re not sure exactly how coffee is [linked] to all these benefits. The coffee bean itself is loaded with many different nutrients and phytochemicals. And my guess is that they’re working together to have some of these benefits.
We [see] similar benefits from caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee. That’s important, because it suggests that caffeine is not responsible for [the benefit.]
In this study, you also analyzed how coffee influenced the risk of specific diseases — or categories of diseases. What did you find?
We went beyond total mortality and looked at specific causes of death. And we found that people who drink moderate amounts of coffee have lower risk of [death] from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurologic disease [such as Parkinson’s] and suicide.
SRC: Read the full article and Q&A series here: www.scpr.org/news/2015/11/16/55692/drink-to-your-health-study-links-daily-coffee-habi/