A study of nearly 450,000 Britons concludes that daily coffee consumption is “associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular events and mortality”.
A “significantly reduced” mortality risk. A new study, published Tuesday in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, looked at the benefits of coffee to the body. She concludes that drinking 2-3 cups of coffee per day, whether decaffeinated, ground or instant, is “associated with a significant reduction in cardiovascular events and mortality.”
“These results suggest that light to moderate consumption of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle,” Peter Kistler, of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute (Australia), one of the co-authors of the study.
The study was carried out with information given by a cohort of 449,563 participants, with a median age of 58 years, taken from the UK Biobank database. It “contains in-depth genetic and health information from half a million British participants”. The median follow-up for this group “was 12.5 years,” the authors state.
A 27% lower probability of death with two to three cups of ground coffee
Participants were divided into six groups: those drinking no coffee, less than one a day, one, two to three, four to five and more than five cups a day. Among the nearly 450,000 profiles selected for the study, 198,062 (44.1%) were consumers of instant coffee, 82,575 (18.4%) of ground coffee, and 68,416 (15.2%) of decaffeinated.
The results of each group were compared to understand the impact of coffee on health, and if the benefits of this drink are observed as early as one cup a day, they peak with 2 or 3 cups. With a higher consumption (4 cups or more), there are always benefits, but they are less and less important.
Compared to people who didn’t drink coffee, those who consumed 2 to 3 cups of decaffeinated coffee per day had an average of 14% lower probability of death, says Bloomberg. This same probability was 27% for two to three cups of ground coffee per day, and 11% for instant coffee.
Still in comparison with the group of non-coffee drinkers, the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 6% for decaffeinated drinkers (2 to 3 cups per day), by 20% for those consuming ground coffee and by 9% for the instant coffee group.
On the other hand, “ground and instant coffee – but not decaffeinated – were associated with a reduction in arrhythmia” in the participants.
Coffee is made of “more than 100 components”
It is still difficult to understand what element plays in favor of health in coffee. Coffee is a “complex alliance of more than 100 biologically active components, caffeine being the most recognized”, underline the researchers. It is also to partly study the other components that decaffeinated is part of the study.
Coffee “also contains polyphenols”, antioxidants “and microelements such as magnesium”, notes the study. However “it has been shown that these constituents reduce oxidative stress, modulate metabolism” or even “improve the intestinal microbiome.”
Several other studies before this one have already noted the benefits of coffee consumption on the body. In 2017, research found “that greater coffee consumption was linked to a lower risk of mortality from all causes, more particularly circulatory and digestive system diseases”.
