- More evidence suggests that drinking coffee can help reduce health risks and prolong your life.
- Researchers found that coffee drinkers were less likely to die from cancer and heart disease in a seven-year study.
- People who drink slightly sweetened coffee also live longer, so adding sugar may not be unhealthy.
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Your daily coffee habit can help you live a longer and healthier life, even if you add sugar, according to a study published recently in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Researchers from the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China, looked at data on coffee habits and health from more than 171,000 UK residents who did not have cancer or heart disease at the start of the study over a seven-year period.
Previously, evidence suggested that coffee drinkers lived longer – researchers in China aimed to test whether this was true even when people added sugar to their daily beverage.
They found that people who regularly drank unsweetened coffee were 16-21% less likely to die during the study than their peers who did not drink coffee.
And study participants who drank between one and four cups of slightly sweetened coffee a day were 29-31% less likely to die during the study, according to the study.
The results are less clear, the researchers found, for participants who used artificial sweeteners who had seen similar mixed results in previous studies. Some experts and evidence say these products may be a safe, healthy sugar substitute, according to the Mayo Clinic, while others have concerns about possible associations with cancer or metabolic health problems.
However, the evidence does not necessarily endorse sugary coffee drinks as healthy, according to an accompanying editorial by Harvard professor Dr. Christina Wee on the Southern Medical University study. Participants add an average of about one teaspoon of sugar per cup, which is much less than the amount of sweetener usually found in brewed or blended coffee drinks.
The findings are supported by previous evidence that coffee is generally good for longevity, no matter how you drink it.
Coffee has evidence-based benefits for mental and physical health, with few side effects in moderation
Coffee – and its main ingredient, caffeine – has been thoroughly studied, and many data suggest that it is not only safe in moderation, but also good for your health.
Previous studies have shown that coffee drinkers live longer because they have a lower risk of diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Caffeine can also increase mental focus and also benefit brain health, especially with age, and appears to be associated with a reduced risk of Parkinson’s disease. The drink is also associated with a lower risk of depression and suicide.
However, you can take too much caffeine. Doses of more than 400 milligrams of caffeine (more than about four to five cups of coffee) can cause minor side effects such as anxiety, tremors, rapid heartbeat and sweating, according to the Mayo Clinic.
And in extreme cases, concentrated caffeine can cause serious problems starting at around 1,200 milligrams, although you will need to drink more than 12 cups of coffee for this to happen. Serious and fatal caffeine overdoses have occurred from the equivalent of more than 50 cups of coffee in a single, concentrated dose of caffeine powder.
But for the average person who drinks coffee with up to five cups of coffee scattered during the day, this habit is unlikely to lead to any serious side effects.
In addition to caffeine, coffee contains a huge number of other compounds that could have a positive effect on your health, including polyphenols, which research has shown can reduce inflammation, improve intestinal bacteria, boost metabolism and lower blood sugar.
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