Brewing Up a Longer Life: 3 Cups of Coffee a Day Slash Cancer, Heart, and Lung Disease Mortality by 30%

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One study showed that adults who drink three or more cups of coffee every day have a nearly 30 percent lower risk of dying from cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and respiratory disease.

Eiko Saito Researchers at Tokyo Medical University in Japan followed 90,914 Japanese aged 40 to 69 with no history of cancer, cerebrovascular disease or ischemic heart disease from 1990 to 2011 for 18 years and 7 months.

The researchers excluded subjects who consumed other types of caffeine, such as green tea, black tea and carbonated drinks, from the study participants.

The researchers did not limit the type of coffee the participants drank (instant coffee, canned coffee, or brewed coffee).

The researchers set the probability at 1 that an adult who does not drink coffee will die from cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease and respiratory diseases such as pneumonia.

The results of the study showed that for people who consumed less than 1 cup of coffee per day, the probability of death from disease was reduced by 0.91 times, for those who consumed 1 to 2 cups of coffee, the probability of death was reduced by 0.85 times, and for those who consumed 3 to 4 cups of coffee, the likelihood of death was reduced by 0.76 times.

However, for people who drink more than 5 cups of coffee, the chance of death increases slightly to 0.85 times.

In this regard, the researchers explain, “adults who drink more than five cups of coffee a day tend to smoke more than other groups, so there may be residual effects of smoking.”

Chlorogenic acid, a phenolic compound found in coffee, helps prevent heart and cerebrovascular disease by slowing glucose absorption and lowering blood pressure. Coffee also contains pyridinium, which has an antithrombotic effect and is effective in reducing cerebrovascular disease and mortality.

As for the reason for the lower mortality rate from respiratory diseases, the researchers said: “The caffeine contained in coffee has a function similar to that of a bronchodilator and improves lung function even in small doses.”

However, more research is needed to determine the benefits of individual substances found in coffee and their impact on premature death.

The results of this study were published in the March issue of the international academic journal “The American Journal of Clinical Journal”.

Reporter Kook Yun-jin soup@segye.com

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