Health | Coffee | Habits
Recent Study Revealed the Long-Term Effect of Coffee Drinking Habit
500,000 participants, 15 years of research — solid basis for the conclusion
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. 1 billion people in the world drink coffee daily.
Still, little was known about the long-term impact of regular coffee drinking on cardiovascular health. Until this research appeared.
500,000 participants, 15 years of observations — the concrete basis for research. Results were presented at ESC Congress 2021.
We now have solid information about how coffee drinking affects the risk of heart attack, stroke, and death from all causes.
Here are the results of the research. They shocked me!
Research
The research included half of a million participants, who were divided into 3 groups based on their coffee consumption:
- none — do not drink coffee regularly
- light-to-moderate — 0.5 to 3 cups
- high — more than 3 cups per day
Researchers followed up with the participants 10 to 15 years later, with a median follow-up of 11 years. 15 years of observation is a serious study.
The average participant’s age was 56 years, and 55% were women.
The researchers adjusted results for age, sex, weight, height, smoking status, physical activity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol level, socioeconomic status, alcohol intake, and consumption of meat, tea, fruit, and vegetables.
They received numbers affected only by coffee drinking, without any extra white noise. So what did the numbers say?
Results
The research exposed that light-to-moderate (0.5 to 3 daily cups) coffee drinking is good for your health.
We all know that drinking lots of coffee is dangerous for our health. But the idea that coffee drinking could be good for the health is new.
Light-to-moderate coffee drinkers compared to not drinking coffee have:
- 12% lower risk of all-cause mortality
- 17% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease
- 21% lower risk of incident stroke
The above was shocking for me. Looks like it’s a terrific idea to have a cup of cappuccino sometimes.
People who drink more than 3 cups of coffee a day are at the greatest risk. The medium position is for non-coffee drinkers. And the best idea is to drink coffee in limited quantities on a stable basis.
Explanations and comments
The lead researcher explains the results with the following:
“Compared with participants who did not drink coffee regularly, daily consumers had healthier sized and better functioning hearts. This was consistent with reversing the detrimental effects of aging on the heart.”
Probably, behind these results, there is a mechanism similar to Nassim Taleb’s “anti-fragile” concept. If you get a little bit of stress all the time, you get better prepared for serious stress.
Same way with coffee. You can prepare your heart for serious stimulation in case of a heart attack or stroke with smaller stimulations. These stimulations could be caffeine intake on a stable basis.
Similar idea sound in the research conclusion:
“Our findings suggest that coffee consumption of up to 3 cups per day is associated with positive cardiovascular outcomes. The observed benefits might be explained by positive alterations in cardiac structure and function.”
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