dr. michael greger m.d. physician and new york times bestselling author "coffee " do coffee-drinkers live longerthan non-coffee drinkers? is it “wake up andsmell the coffee†or “don’t wakeup at all?â€
caffeine levels in coffee roasts, the largest study everconducted on diet and health put that questionto the test, examining the associationbetween coffee drinking with subsequent mortalityamong hundreds of thousands
of older men and womenin the united states. coffee drinkers won, thoughthe effect was modest. 10 to 15% lowerrisk of death for those drinking 6or more cups a day, specifically due tolower risk of dying from heart disease,respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents,diabetes, and infections. that much coffee was foundto increase the death rate of younger people,though, under age 55.
hence, based on this study,it may be appropriate to recommend avoid drinkingmore than four cups a day. but if you put allthe studies together, bottom line -coffee consumption is associated with no changeor a small reduction in mortality startingaround 1 or 2 cups a day, for both menand women. on a cup by cup basis,the risk of dying was 3% lower for each cupof coffee consumed daily,
which all provides reassurancewith respect to the concern that coffee drinking mightadversely affect health. well, at least,longevity. healthwise, though a recentpopulation study found no link between coffee consumptionand symptoms of gerd, reflux disease such as heart burnand regurgitation, if you actuallystick a tube down people’s throatsand measure ph, coffee inducessignificant acid reflux,
whereas teadoes not. is it just because teahas less caffeine? no. if you reduce thecaffeine content of the coffee downto that of tea, it still causes significantlymore acid reflux. decaf did cause less,though, so gerd patients might want to choose decaffeinatedor even better, drink tea. coffee intake is also associatedwith urinary incontinence, and so a decrease in caffeineintake should be discussed
with women who havethe condition, or men. about 2 cups of coffeea day worth of caffeine may worsen urinary leakagein men as well. a 2014 meta-analysis suggestedthat daily coffee consumption was associated with aslightly increased risk of bone fracturesin women, but a decreased risk offractures in men. not hip fractures,though. no significant association wasfound between coffee consumption
and the risk ofhip fracture, though tea consumptionmay actually be protective against hip fracture,though appears to have no apparent relationshipwith fracture risk in general. there are certain populationsin particular that may want to stay awayfrom caffeine, for example thosewith glaucoma, and possibly even those witha family history of glaucoma. goes without saying that peoplewho have trouble sleeping
might not wantto imbibe. even just a single cupat night can cause a significant deteriorationin sleep quality. then there are case reports,for example, of individuals with epilepsy having fewerseizures after stopping coffee, so i guess it’sworth a shot. we used to think caffeinemight increase the risk of an irregular heart rhythmcalled atrial fibrillation, but that too was basedon anecdotal case reports
like this one of a young womanwho suffered atrial fibrillation after chocolateintake abuse. but these cases invariablyinvolved the acute ingestion of very large quantitiesof caffeine. as a result, though, thenotion that caffeine ingestion may trigger abnormal heart rhythmshad become "common knowledge", and this assumption led tochanges in medical practice. more recently, however,the pendulum has swung in the oppositedirection. why?
because we actuallyhave data now. caffeine does not increase therisk of atrial fibrillation. and low-dose caffeine,which they defined as less than about 5 cupsof coffee a day, may even have a protective effect. tea consumption also appears to lower cardiovascular disease risk, especially when it comes to stroke. however, given theproliferation of energy drinks that contain massivequantities of caffeine,
one might want to temper anymessage that suggests
that caffeineis beneficial. seems a little patronizing,but it’s no joke. 12 highly caffeinatedenergy drinks within a few hourscould be lethal.
