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According to research coordinated by the Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute in Melbourne (Australia), published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology, drinking coffee would help extend life. The study, which included people between the ages of 40 and 69, could suggest that regular coffee intake would be part of a healthy lifestyle.
What the study says
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Coffee, moderate consumption would reduce the risk of premature death
It is often said that drinking too much coffee is bad, and that we Italians take too much. One, two, three cups, someone drinks up to six a day. But are we sure that this is really the case? According to researchers from Melbourne’s Baker Heart and Diabetes Research Institute, drinking coffee would not only reduce the chances of developing cardiovascular disease, but it would help extend life. This is evidenced by the data collected on 449,563 people between 40 and 69 years of age followed for 12 and a half years. At the time of the study, the experts specify, no one had particular cardiovascular problems: each of the volunteers was asked whether they usually drank instant coffee, ground or decaffeinated, and how many cups they consumed per day.
Word of the experts
Contrary to popular belief, two or three cups a day were not only associated with a reduction in deaths, but also with a decrease in cardiovascular disease. “The findings suggest that mild to moderate intakes of ground, instant, and decaf coffee should be considered part of a healthy lifestyle,” comments Peter Kistler, one of the study authors. Note, however, that decaffeinated coffee has not been associated with a decrease in arrhythmias, such as atrial fibrillation. Compared to those who did not drink coffee, the study observed a reduction in risk for all causes of death: in particular, an 11% decrease in risk for instant coffees, 27% for ground coffee and 14% for the decaffeinated. Compared to coffee abstinence, for cardiovascular diseases it was observed that with two or three cups a day the chances of getting sick were reduced by 6% for instant coffees, by 20% for ground coffees and by 14% for decaffeinated. Although no benefits emerged with respect to the effect of decaffeinated on arrhythmias, compared to those who did not consume coffee, lower risks were highlighted, equal to 17%, for those who consumed four, or five, cups of ground coffee per day, and 12 % for two, three, cups a day of instant coffee.