Staying Healthy
Heavy coffee drinkers live longer
With so many cups of coffee consumed daily, scientists have conducted many studies to weigh the possible health impacts. Now, researchers report an intriguing observation in The New England Journal of Medicine: people who drink coffee appear to live longer.
In the largest study of coffee and health to date, researchers examined data from a diet and lifestyle questionnaire administered to more than 400,000 people. They determined that men who drank six or more cups of coffee per day had a 10% lower overall rate of death. Whether caffeinated or not, coffee was also associated with decreased risk of death from heart disease, stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes, and infection—but not cancer. Importantly, as coffee consumption increased, the risk of death decreased in step, suggesting the connection may not be mere coincidence.
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