Being a coffee lover does has its perks-an instant morning jolt, an afternoon pick me up, warm remedy, a taste of enjoyment. Meanwhile, science has found that coffee drinking is also linked to a longer life. With its hundreds of different compounds, coffee has wonderful health benefits.
Several studies have found that individuals who drink the most coffee live longer years and have displayed reduced risk of diseases such as diabetes and Alzheimer's.
As coffee incorporates with the hot water running as it brews, substances in the coffee such as caffeine are activated in the drink. Also among these substances are antioxidant compounds, which up to now are still being studied and identified by scientists. Many of these antioxidants protect the body from oxidation; free radicals that damage the body's molecules. Oxidation contributes largely to ageing and diseases like heart disease and cancer.
A groundbreaking study published in the New England Journal of Medicine discovered an association between coffee drinking and total and cause-specific mortality. In this study by Freedman and colleagues, over 402,260 individuals aged 50 to 71 years old were asked about their coffee consumption and coffee drinking habits.
The authors found that after following the participants for 12 to 13 years, those who drank the most cups of coffee displayed significantly lower chances of dying. The more coffee people drank, the lower their risk of death, the study concluded.
Furthermore, it was noted that 4-5 cups of coffee a day reduced death risk by up to 12 percent for men, and 16 percent for women. Meanwhile, drinking 6 or more cups of coffee a day provided no added advantages.
Moderate coffee drinkers also get to experience these benefits; the researchers found that drinking a single cup of coffee a day was associated with 5 to 6 percent in death risk reduction. The authors believe that despite these small numbers, such can have a great impact on millions of people.
