A new study shows that drinking two to three cups of most types of coffee a day can help prevent cardiovascular disease and possible early death.
“The results suggest that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle,” stated study author Peter Kistler, head of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute’s clinical electrophysiology research and head of Alfred Hospital’s electrophysiology in Melbourne.
Researchers found “significant reductions” in the risk of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and stroke for three types of coffee.
However, only ground and instant coffee with caffeine reduced the risk of arrhythmia but decaffeinated coffee did not reduce the risk, according to a study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology published Wednesday.
Previous studies have shown that moderate amounts of black coffee (approximately 3 to 5 cups per day) are effective in reducing the risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, type 2 diabetes, liver disease and prostate cancer.
“The manuscript adds to the body of evidence from observational trials associating moderate coffee consumption with cardioprotection, which looks promising,” stated a lecturer in nutritional sciences at the University of Reading in the UK, Charlotte Mills.
But this study, like many previous studies, was purely observational in nature, so it can’t prove direct cause and effect, said Mills, who wasn’t part of the study.“Does coffee make you healthy, or do inherently healthier people consume coffee?” she queried. “Randomized controlled trials are needed to prove the relationship between coffee and cardiovascular health.”
The study used data from the UK Biobank, a research database of coffee consumption preferences of approximately 450,000 adults without arrhythmia or other cardiovascular disease at baseline.
They were divided into four groups: Some enjoyed ground coffee with caffeine, some chose decaffeinated coffee, some preferred instant coffee with caffeine, and some didn’t drink coffee at all.
Following an average of 12.5 years, researchers scan the medical and death records for reports of arrhythmia, cardiovascular disease, stroke, and death.
Following the adjustment for age, diabetes, ethnicity, high blood pressure, obesity, obstructive sleep apnea, sex, smoking status, and tea and alcohol consumption, researchers discovered all types of coffee were connected to a decrease in death from any cause.
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Types of Coffee and Effects
The fact that both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee was advantageous “might suggest that it is not simply the caffeine which could potentially explain any associated reduction in risk,” stated a registered dietitian and senior teaching fellow at Aston University Medical School in Birmingham in the UK, Duane Mellor. He did not participate in the study.
“Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components,” stated Kistler, who holds joint appointments as a professor of medicine at the University of Melbourne and Monash University.
“It is likely that non-caffeinated compounds were responsible for the positive relationships observed between coffee drinking, cardiovascular disease and survival.”
Consuming two to three cups of coffee per day was connected to the most significant decrease in early death, parred to people who didn’t drink coffee, per the statement.
Drinking ground coffee reduced the risk of death by 27%, 14% for decaffeinated coffee, and 11% for instant caffeinated coffee.
The connection between coffee and a decreased risk for heart disease and stroke was not as aggressive: Consuming two to three cups per day of ground coffee reduced risk by 17%. In comparison, two to three cups of instant coffee lowered the possibility of arrhythmia by 12%, per the statement.
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