Coffee Can Lower Your Risk of Death—But Only If You Drink It This Way

Coffee is more than simply woving in the morning – the bitter drink was linked to a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and death. But Depending on what you add to your coffee, you may not harvest these health services From your cup of Joe, a new study suggests.

Researchers discovered that people who drank One to two cups of coffee per day had one 14% lower mortality risk Compared to non -coffee drinkers.

However, it was only true For those who have had their coffee black or with small amounts of cream, milk or sweeteners. Too many additives seemed to undermine the benefits for coffee health.

“If we add a lot of saturated sugars or fats to our diet, it increases[s] Our total [caloric] Admission, which could also be linked to unfavorable results for health, ”said a senior study author Fang Fang Zhang, MD, PHD, professor at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.

For this study, published in May in The Journal of NutritioN, Zhang and his colleagues followed more than 46,000 American adults in about 10 years. The objective was to see if the risk of mortality was linked to the consumption of coffee consumption of the participants.

At the start of the study, the researchers gave participants a questionnaire on the 24 -hour regime. Based on this information, the researchers estimated the consumption of average coffee of participants and noted if they added sweeteners or products with saturated fats in their cafe.

After following the health of the participants – including the deaths recorded against cancer, cardiovascular diseases and all the causes – Zhang and his team discovered:

• Drink a cup of coffee every day was linked to a Risk of mortality all causes of more than 16% lower
• Drink two or three daily cups coffee reduce the risk of mortality all causes of 17%

Coffee drinkers also had a 29 to 33% risk of mortality by heart diseaseespecially.

By specifically looking at coffee additives, the researchers discovered that, compared to unofessional drinkers, the participants had a 14% lower overall mortality risk If they drank black coffee Or Low coffee in added sugar and saturated fats.

The defined research team “Sugar at low add” And “Low saturated fat” Like any amount of less than 5% of the recommended daily value. For an infusion of 8 ounces, this translates into:

• 2.5 grams of sugar, or about a third or a half-teaspoon of sugar, syrup or honey
• 1 gram of fat, or about 5 tablespoons of 2%milk, 1 tablespoon of light cream, or 1 tablespoon half and half

There was No increase in mortality For people who have had their coffee with No more sugar or with a high dose of milk or crema.

Interestingly, the data has also shown No link between coffee consumption in general and reduced cancer mortality. This could be due to the fact that the participants’ basin was smaller, and the researchers examined associations with specific cancers, Mingyang Song, SCD, associate professor of epidemiology and clinical nutrition at the Harvard Th Chan School of Public Health Health, Health.

In his own research, Song found that patients with colorectal cancer who drank coffee had a higher survival rate, and other experts have shown that coffee can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer. Overall, however, the evidence of other cancers are mixed.

Because Zhang and the researchers checked various demographic factors, Zhang said Health that it is convinced that the data suggest a causal relationship between the coffee additives (or their absence) and the risk of lower mortality.

However, the study has certain limits.

Although the data is “informative”, the study The sample size was limited, Making it difficult to understand if this link could hold through breed or ethnicity, Lu Qi, MD, PHD, professor and director of the Obesity Research Center of Tulane University, said Health.

In addition, most people in the study drank their black coffee –There may not have been enough participants drinking their coffee with additives To paint a complete painting of how it could affect mortality, added Marilyn Cornelis, PHD, researcher at the cafe and associate professor of preventive medicine at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine.

There are also a lot of unknowns on the consumption of real coffee of participants. Habits were only evaluated for each participant in the study and “people Coffee consumption can vary Day after day, “said Song.” Some people can consume more coffee on weekdays. “”

The consumption of coffee for participants may not have been stable during the study either.

Researchers did not take all types of coffee or additives into account. THE specific infusion People were drinking may have affected the results because previous research has revealed that non -filtered coffee does not reduce the risk of mortality. In addition, the study did not look at specific types of sweeteners– For example, alternative VS sugar with low calorie – or Compare dairy products to non -dairy products.

Each cup of coffee is loaded with more than 100 different molecules and metabolites – a group of them, polyphenols can be largely responsible For the many health benefits associated with coffee.

Polyphenols are antioxidantsThis means that they help reduce inflammation and eliminate free radicals that would damage the cells of the body.

Thus, this relationship between coffee consumption and the risk of lower mortality “is a cardiologist, cardiologist at Mid America Heart Institute James O’Keefe, MD, cardiologist at St. Luke’s Mid America Heart Institute, Health. “Coffee is the main source of antioxidants in the American diet.”

Add more sugar or saturated fat to your coffee does not necessarily get rid of polyphenols or cancel their effects, explained Song. Instead, High consumption of saturated sugar and fat in general are simply linked to Worse cardiovascular and higher mortality results.

As this is the first study to examine the effects of coffee additives on the risk of mortality, the Evidence is not yet strong enough to make final recommendations About the healthiest way of drinking coffee, Song said.

As a general rule, however, “it’s always wise to reduce the consumption of saturated sugar and fats “,” He said.

However, if you like to add a little cream and sweetener to your coffee in the morning, there is no need to worry, said Cornelis.

“Black can be better, but you are not at increased risks because you add sugar and milk,” she said.

Aside from the additives, Moderation is the key with regard to coffee consumption, Zhang and O’Keefe have pointed out because all health benefits tend to decline after about two cups of daily coffee. Drinking more can even become dangerous.

“High doses of caffeine can be problematic With anxiety, irregular heartbeat and high blood pressures, “said O’Keefe.