Coffee has become something like an energy source to the day to day worker. It’s so present in our lives, it’s become part of our daily grind. But you probably didn’t know how important it is to our health. Not only does it help you get through the day, but that extra cup of Joe could save your life.
- Originally, Africans mixed coffee berries with fat and made energy balls, which they then ate
- The coffee bean is actually a seed inside a bright red berry
- A Belgian man living in Guatemala named George Washington invented instant coffee in 1906
- Ethiopian shepherds discovered coffee when they noticed their animals started “dancing” after eating coffee berries
- Coffee is the second most traded commodity on Earth
According to a new study led by Dr. Erikka Loftfield of the National Cancer Institute in Rockville, Maryland, regular coffee drinkers had an overall decreased death rate, their chances of dying from a whole variety of causes like diabetes and heart disease dropping significantly.
Even more interesting is that caffeine wasn’t really a factor in the study, so whatever causes coffee drinkers to have better chances of staying healthy is also present in decaffeinated coffee.
The study was performed on a sample consisting of 90,317 healthy adults, and they were followed for 11 years, from 1998 to 2009. By the end of the study, about 8,700 participants had died.
The doctors analyzed the coffee consumption of the subjects, as well as various health parameters, as well other healthy and unhealthy habits, like exercising, smoking, and drinking.
Results were most obvious for those participants who had 4 or 5 cups a day, but all the participants who reported drinking coffee presented a decreased risk of heart disease, diabetes, pneumonia, influenza, and other chronic respiratory diseases, and even suicide. What coffee didn’t seem to protect against, unfortunately, was cancer.
Overall, moderate coffee drinkers (up to 200 mg a day) had an 18% lower risk of death than those who did not drink any coffee at all. Even drinking up to 5 cups a day, or 400 mg, was not found to cause any harm whatsoever.
Not only that, but the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that no evidence was found that pregnant women shouldn’t drink coffee moderately.
Even though the study doesn’t prove directly that coffee extends life, it ties the energy-bestowing beverage to an overall healthier life. Although, the researchers recommend that non-drinkers do not start drinking coffee solely for the health benefits.
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