Health

Cool Beans! Coffee Drinkers Could Beat Disease And Live Longer

11th July 2017

By Harriet Mallinson | Published on July 11, 2017


Grab your mug and hotfoot it to the Nespresso machine pronto because new research shows coffee-drinkers might live longer than non-coffee drinkers.

Scientists have found that higher levels of coffee consumption are associated with a reduced risk of death from all causes, particularly from circulatory diseases and diseases related to the digestive tract.

In short, drink around three cups of java a day and you stand good chance of living to a ripe old age.

 

What’s the science behind this?

Data from more than half a million people across 10 European countries was analyzed in a landmark study – the largest of its kind – by researchers from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Imperial College London.

An estimated 2.25 billion cups of coffee are drunk around the world each day and its benefits have already been established as bountiful. It’s associated with reduced risk of several types of cancer, diabetes, liver disease, Parkinson’s disease, Type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases.

“We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases,” said lead author Dr Marc Gunter of the IARC.

“Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs. Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee.”

 

 

What did the researchers do?

Using data from a European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study, the group analysed data from 521,330 people from over the age of 35 from 10 EU countries, including the UK, France, Denmark and Italy.

People’s diets were assessed using questionnaires and interviews, with the highest level of coffee consumption (by volume) reported in Denmark (900ml per day) and lowest in Italy (approximately 92ml per day). Those who drank more coffee were also more likely to be younger, to be smokers, drinkers, eat more meat and less fruit and veg.

 

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After 16 years of follow up, almost 42,000 people in the study had died from a range of conditions including cancer, circulatory diseases, heart failure and stroke.

Following careful statistical adjustments for lifestyle factors such as diet and smoking, the researchers found that the group with the highest consumption of coffee had a lower risk for all-causes of death, compared to those who did not drink coffee.

In a subset of 14,000 people, scientists also analysed metabolic biomarkers, and found that coffee drinkers may have healthier livers overall and better glucose control than non-coffee drinkers.

“We found that drinking more coffee was associated with a more favourable liver function profile and immune response,” explained Dr Gunter.

“This, along with the consistency of the results with other studies in the US and Japan gives us greater confidence that coffee may have beneficial health effects.”

 

 

Does investigation stop there?

According to the group, more research is needed to find out which of the compounds in coffee may be giving a protective effect or potentially benefiting health.

“These findings add to a growing body of evidence which indicates that drinking coffee not only is safe, but it may actually have a protective health effect for people,” said Professor Elio Riboli, head of the School of Public Health at Imperial, who established the EPIC study.

“While further research is needed, we can be confident that the results from a large European study confirm previous findings seen around the world.”

Dr Gunter added: “Due to the limitations of observational research, we are not at the stage of recommending people to drink more or less coffee. That said, our results suggest that moderate coffee drinking – up to around three cups per day – is not detrimental to your health, and that incorporating coffee into your diet could have health benefits.”