Drinking coffee may lower risk of early death, study says

Intake of unsweetened and sugar-sweetened coffee is associated with lower risk of early death

Drinking coffee

A new study suggests that drinking coffee regularly may reduce the risk of early death.

For seven years, a group of researchers at the Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, China studied the habits and overall health of 171,616 participants in the U.K., who had an average age of 55.6 years and did not have cancer or cardiovascular disease.

The researchers particularly looked at the participants who drank unsweetened, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened coffee. And the results of the study, which was published on Tuesday in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, suggested that there’s a link between sugar-sweetened and unsweetened coffee consumption and a lower risk of early death.

The data for drinking artificially sweetened coffee, however, was “less consistent.”

The study found that those who drank unsweetened coffee regularly were 15 to 21% less likely to die than the participants who didn’t. The study also discovered that people who drank between one and four cups of lightly sweetened coffee every day were 29 to 31% less likely to die.

Benefits of drinking coffee

The study by Southern Medical University experts isn’t the first research that has proven coffee’s health benefits. Previous studies had found that drinking coffee — a cup or a two a day — may result in a healthier liver and a lowered risk of heart failure.

Moreover, drinking coffee could protect people from Parkinson’s disease or type 2 diabetes, according to Mayo Clinic.

Cons of drinking too much coffee

While the benefits of drinking coffee seem to outweigh the cons, high caffeine intake can cause temporary blood pressure increase or, in the case of boiled, unfiltered coffee, heightened cholesterol.

Caffeine overload can also cause headaches, insomnia, nervousness, irritability, muscle tremors, fast heartbeat, and iron deficiencies, which, in turn, can result in hair loss.

Planning to start drinking coffee? Find out the best Starbucks drinks here!

Love anything coffee? Check out these caffeine-infused sleeping masks!

Source: New York Post
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