coffee

Posted on Diet

Coffee drinking is associated with increased longevity

Coffee drinking is associated with increased longevity
Coffee drinking is associated with increased longevity

 

Drinking two to three cups of coffee a day is linked with a longer lifespan and lower risk of cardiovascular disease compared with avoiding coffee, according to research published today in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, a journal of the ESC.1 The findings applied to ground, instant and decaffeinated varieties.

“In this large, observational study, ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee were associated with equivalent reductions in the incidence of cardiovascular disease and death from cardiovascular disease or any cause,” said study author Professor Peter Kistler of the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, Melbourne, Australia. “The results suggest that mild to moderate intake of ground, instant and decaffeinated coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle.”

There is little information on the impact of different coffee preparations on heart health and survival. This study examined the associations between types of coffee and incident arrhythmias, cardiovascular disease and death using data from the UK Biobank, which recruited adults between 40 and 69 years of age. Cardiovascular disease was comprised of coronary heart disease, congestive heart failure and ischaemic stroke.

The study included 449,563 participants free of arrhythmias or other cardiovascular disease at baseline. The median age was 58 years and 55.3% were women. Participants completed a questionnaire asking how many cups of coffee they drank each day and whether they usually drank instant, ground (such as cappuccino or filtered coffee), or decaffeinated coffee. They were then grouped into six daily intake categories, consisting of none, less than one, one, two to three, four to five, and more than five cups per day. The usual coffee type was instant in 198,062 (44.1%) participants, ground in 82,575 (18.4%), and decaffeinated in 68,416 (15.2%). There were 100,510 (22.4%) non-coffee drinkers who served as the comparator group.

Coffee drinkers were compared to non-drinkers for the incidence of arrhythmias, cardiovascular disease and death, after adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnoea, smoking status, and tea and alcohol consumption. Outcome information was obtained from medical records and death records. The median follow up was 12.5 years.

A total of 27,809 (6.2%) participants died during follow up. All types of coffee were linked with a reduction in death from any cause. The greatest risk reduction seen with two to three cups per day, which compared to no coffee drinking was associated with a 14%, 27% and 11% lower likelihood of death for decaffeinated, ground, and instant preparations, respectively.

Cardiovascular disease was diagnosed in 43,173 (9.6%) participants during follow up. All coffee subtypes were associated with a reduction in incident cardiovascular disease. Again, the lowest risk was observed with two to three cups a day, which compared to abstinence from coffee was associated with a 6%, 20%, and 9% reduced likelihood of cardiovascular disease for decaffeinated, ground, instant coffee, respectively.

An arrhythmia was diagnosed in 30,100 (6.7%) participants during follow up. Ground and instant coffee, but not decaffeinated, was associated with a reduction in arrhythmias including atrial fibrillation. Compared with non-drinkers, the lowest risks were observed with four to five cups a day for ground coffee and two to three cups a day for instant coffee, with 17% and 12% reduced risks, respectively.

Professor Kistler said: “Caffeine is the most well-known constituent in coffee, but the beverage contains more than 100 biologically active components. It is likely that the non-caffeinated compounds were responsible for the positive relationships observed between coffee drinking, cardiovascular disease and survival. Our findings indicate that drinking modest amounts of coffee of all types should not be discouraged but can be enjoyed as a heart healthy behaviour.”

Posted on Cardiovascular disease

Coffee doesn’t raise your risk for heart rhythm problems

Coffee doesn't raise your risk for heart rhythm problems
Coffee doesn’t raise your risk for heart rhythm problems

In the largest study of its kind, an investigation by UC San Francisco has found no evidence that moderate coffee consumption can cause cardiac arrhythmia.

In fact, each additional daily cup of coffee consumed among several hundred thousand individuals was associated with a 3 percent lower risk of any arrhythmia occurring, including atrial fibrillation, premature ventricular contractions, or other common heart conditions, the researchers report. The study included a four-year follow up.

The paper is published July 19, 2021, in JAMA Internal Medicine.

“Coffee is the primary source of caffeine for most people, and it has a reputation for causing or exacerbating arrhythmias,” said senior and corresponding author Gregory Marcus, MD, professor of medicine in the Division of Cardiology at UCSF.

“But we found no evidence that caffeine consumption leads to a greater risk of arrhythmias,” said Marcus, who specializes in the treatment of arrhythmias. “Our population-based study provides reassurance that common prohibitions against caffeine to reduce arrhythmia risk are likely unwarranted.”

While some professional societies suggest avoiding caffeinated products to lower the risk for arrhythmia, this connection has not been consistently demonstrated – indeed, coffee consumption may have anti-inflammatory benefits and is associated with reduced risks of some illnesses including cancer, diabetes, and Parkinson disease.

In the new study, UCSF scientists explored whether habitual coffee intake was associated with a risk of arrhythmia, and whether genetic variants that affect caffeine metabolism could modify that association. Their investigation was conducted via the community-based UK Biobank, a prospective study of participants in England’s National Health Services.

Some 386,258 coffee drinkers took part in the coffee research, with an average mean age of 56 years; slightly more than half were female. It was an unprecedented sample size for this type of inquiry.

In addition to a conventional analysis examining self-reported coffee consumption as a predictor of future arrhythmias, the investigators employed a technique called “Mendelian Randomization,” leveraging genetic data to infer causal relationships. As those with the genetic variants associated with faster caffeine metabolism drank more coffee, this analysis provided a method to test the caffeine-arrhythmia relationship in a way that did not rely on participant self-report and should have been immune to much of the confounding inherent to most observational studies.

With a mean four-year follow up, data were adjusted for demographic characteristics, health and lifestyle habits.

Ultimately, approximately 4 percent of the sample developed an arrhythmia. No evidence of a heightened risk of arrhythmias was observed among those genetically predisposed to metabolize caffeine differently. The researchers said that higher amounts of coffee were actually associated with a 3 percent reduced risk of developing an arrhythmia.

The authors noted limitations including the self-reporting nature of the study, and that detailed information on the type of coffee – such as espresso or not – was unavailable.

“Only a randomized clinical trial can definitively demonstrate clear effects of coffee or caffeine consumption,” said Marcus. “But our study found no evidence that consuming caffeinated beverages increased the risk of arrhythmia. Coffee’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties may play a role, and some properties of caffeine could be protective against some arrhythmias.”

Posted on Obesity

Could coffee be the secret to fighting obesity?

Caffeine and sleep
Could coffee be the secret to fighting obesity?


Scientists from the University of Nottingham have discovered that drinking a cup of coffee can stimulate ‘brown fat’, the body’s own fat-fighting defenses, which could be the key to tackling obesity and diabetes.

The pioneering study, published today in the journal Scientific Reports, is one of the first to be carried out in humans to find components which could have a direct effect on ‘brown fat’ functions, an important part of the human body which plays a key role in how quickly we can burn calories as energy.

Brown adipose tissue (BAT), also known as brown fat, is one of two types of fat found in humans and other mammals. Initially only attributed to babies and hibernating mammals, it was discovered in recent years that adults can have brown fat too. Its main function is to generate body heat by burning calories (opposed to white fat, which is a result of storing excess calories).

People with a lower body mass index (BMI) therefore have a higher amount of brown fat.

Professor Michael Symonds, from the School of Medicine at the University of Nottingham who co-directed the study said: “Brown fat works in a different way to other fat in your body and produces heat by burning sugar and fat, often in response to cold. Increasing its activity improves blood sugar control as well as improving blood lipid levels and the extra calories burnt help with weight loss. However, until now, no one has found an acceptable way to stimulate its activity in humans.

“This is the first study in humans to show that something like a cup of coffee can have a direct effect on our brown fat functions. The potential implications of our results are pretty big, as obesity is a major health concern for society and we also have a growing diabetes epidemic and brown fat could potentially be part of the solution in tackling them.”

The team started with a series of stem cell studies to see if caffeine would stimulate brown fat. Once they had found the right dose, they then moved on to humans to see if the results were similar.

The team used a thermal imaging technique, which they’d previously pioneered, to trace the body’s brown fat reserves. The non-invasive technique helps the team to locate brown fat and assess its capacity to produce heat.

“From our previous work, we knew that brown fat is mainly located in the neck region, so we were able to image someone straight after they had a drink to see if the brown fat got hotter,” said Professor Symonds.

“The results were positive and we now need to ascertain that caffeine as one of the ingredients in the coffee is acting as the stimulus or if there’s another component helping with the activation of brown fat. We are currently looking at caffeine supplements to test whether the effect is similar.

Once we have confirmed which component is responsible for this, it could potentially be used as part of a weight management regime or as part of glucose regulation programme to help prevent diabetes.”

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How the Italians Drink Lots of Coffee and Stay Healthy




If you’ve ever wondered why the Italian cuisine is one of the healthiest in the world, you might be surprised that one important drink is an important part of it. And that drink is – coffee.

 Italians have developed quite a peculiar set of habits and customs of how they prepare and consume coffee. It is evident in their unspoken rules of how they drink it, and in their understanding the health benefits of this popular drink.

 For example, did you know that espresso, the most popular coffee in Italy, can help you lose weight? It contains just 3 calories/ounce (assuming you don’t add any sugar), and can satisfy your cravings without the risk of adding weight.

 In addition, a study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports found that caffeine can reduce your perception of the intensity of your workouts, helping you go for that extra round of exercise.




 That’s why one of the unspoken rules is that Italians drink espresso even up to 7 times a day, instead of one large cup of coffee with sugar and cream (yes, up to 7 espressos per day 🙂 ).

 This is just one of the rules that Med Cruise Guide put together into this helpful infographic that shows how Italians combine the health benefits and the joys of drinking coffee (see below).

 In it you’ll see that Italians also don’t drink cappuccino, the famous coffee with milk, after 11am because they believe that milk slows down digestion.

 Explore all the 10 rules of drinking coffee in Italy, and don’t forget to enjoy a healthy cup of espresso!

10 Italian Coffee Drinking Rules Infographic

10 Italian Coffee Drinking Rules Infographic

 

 

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Leave a comment Posted on Diet, Patient Talk

Could drinking coffee lower the risk of liver disease?

Coffee and gait

Coffee and gait

A new study of over 500,000 people by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and researchers at Imperial College London has found a significant association between a higher coffee consumption and a lower risk of all-cause mortality. The strongest associations were observed with digestive disease mortality, mainly due to the lower risk of liver disease death, in both men and women. The statistically significant association between coffee drinking and reduced risk of circulatory disease mortality was more pronounced in women than in men.

The study, ‘Coffee drinking and mortality in 10 European countries’, published in Annals of Internal Medicine[1] is the largest of its kind, considering data from over 500,000 people across 10 European countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). The study accounted for variation in consumption and preparation methods, from an espresso in Italy, to a cappuccino in the UK, finding a similar association between consumption and mortality.

The researchers analysed data from people from over the age of 35, all of whom had participated in the EPIC study (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition). The study was followed up over 16 years, during which almost 42,000 people in the study had died from a range of conditions including cancer, circulatory diseases, heart failure and stroke.

Study participants in the highest quartile of coffee consumption (3 or more cups of coffee per day, with a cup of coffee defined as 237ml) had the lowest rate of mortality from all causes. The researchers found that decaffeinated coffee had a similar effect, however this was difficult to define as consumption figures were not available for all countries and participants may have consumed both types of coffee.

In a subcohort of more than 14,000 participants, biomarkers of liver function, inflammation and metabolic health were also evaluated. The biomarker data indicated that coffee drinkers have a more favourable liver function and inflammatory marker profile than non-coffee drinkers or those with low consumption.

Coffee is a popular drink worldwide and this study provides valuable insights relating specifically to a European population, as previous European studies were smaller and conducted in individual countries where coffee preparation methods tend to be fairly consistent. This new study appears to support previous findings in other populations such as the US and Japan. As the study authors note, its potentially beneficial clinical implications should be carefully considered.

 

References

  1. Gunter M.J. et al. Coffee Drinking and Mortality in 10 European Countries. Ann Intern Med,DOI:10.7326/M16-2945