New Delhi: A steaming cup in the morning can help you face the day, a sweating glass of iced coffee will perk you up in the afternoon heat, and a warm mug after dinner helps settle your meal.

Yet people frequently try to limit their coffee consumption for health reasons, but now you may want to start sipping more coffee as according to a recent study, drinking four cups of coffee a day could add years to your life! The observational study in nearly 20,000 participants, which was presented at ESC Congress recently, suggested that coffee can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people.

 

Researchers from Hospital de Navarra in Spain found that the people in their study who drank coffee regularly had mortality rates almost two thirds lower than those who didn’t. As well as caffeine, coffee contains antioxidants - which could be responsible for any health benefits. The study tracked 19,986 people over an average period of 10 years.

 

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between coffee consumption and the risk of mortality in a middle-aged Mediterranean cohort. The study was conducted within the framework of the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Project, a long-term prospective cohort study in more than 22 500 Spanish university graduates which started in 1999. 

 

At the start, all participants provided detailed information about their lifestyle, health history, and dietary habits – including coffee consumption.

 

Around 1 in 60 participants died during the study, with those who drank coffee regularly having the lowest death rates.

 

The link between coffee consumption and decreased mortality rates was particularly pronounced among older people.

 

The researchers examined whether sex, age or adherence to the Mediterranean diet had any influence on the association between baseline coffee consumption and mortality. They observed a significant interaction between coffee consumption and age (p for interaction=0.0016). In those who were at least 45 years old, drinking two additional cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of mortality during follow-up (adjusted HR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.58-0.85). The association was not significant among younger participants.  The findings suggested that drinking four cups of coffee each day can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people.

 

Coffee which is grown worldwide traces its heritage back to the centuries to the ancient coffee forests on the Ethiopian plateau. There, legend says the goat herder Kaldi first discovered the potential of these beloved beans.

Coffee became a popular global beverage due to a series of unique historic events. These events built one upon the other to eventually create what we have today where coffee is the 2nd most traded commodity in the world, beaten only by oil.  Coffee soon become an international tradition and discussing over a cup of coffee became quite popular worldwide.

There have been a range of previous studies which have found potential benefits from the drink – one indicated that it could improve liver function, while another suggested it could boost the immune system.

A US study found that three cups a day could significantly extend life. But the British Heart Foundation has warned against coffee drinkers “resting on their laurels”, adding: “The best way to minimise your risk of cardiovascular disease and premature death is to concentrate on an overall healthy lifestyle - eat a balanced diet, stay active and don’t smoke - rather than lining up the lattes.”

Reference:
http://www.seattletimes.com
http://www.businessinsider.in
http://edition.cnn.com
https://www.theguardian.com