Recently, a new multi-group study (heralded as the biggest single study into coffee consumption ever) claimed that drinking coffee could add as much as nine minutes per day to our lives. Here’s what they found.
Published in August 2017 in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, the study - Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries: A Multinational Cohort Study - aimed to measure whether coffee consumption is associated with all-cause and cause-specific mortality across 10 European countries.
Why is coffee good for you?
Because of the important antioxidants and various compounds found in coffee beans, the risk of dying from liver problems is drastically reduced through consumption, and the risk of dying early from any issue is decreased substantially. Speaking to the Telegraph before the report’s publication, co-author of the study, Dr Veronica Setiawan, Associate Professor of Preventative Medicine at University of Southern California, said: “If you like to drink coffee, drink up. If you’re not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start. Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention. Although this study does not show causation or point to what chemicals in coffee may have this ‘elixir’ effect, it is clear that coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle.”
How was the study completed?
In the results abstract for the study, the Annals of Internal Medicine page states that, “During a mean follow-up of 16.4 years, 41,693 deaths occurred. Compared with non-consumers, participants in the highest quartile of coffee consumption had statistically significantly lower all-cause mortality.” In a controversial topic - the goods and bads of coffee consumption - this extensive research lends weight to the long held belief amongst those in and around the industry that, as with many things, coffee can aid our health when consumed appropriately.