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HEALTH WEEKLY NEWSFLASH!
Biggest Consumers of Coffee Lower Risk of Heart Disease
Published on: July 7, 2006
In an ironic conclusion of the latest caffeine-coronary disease connection, the heaviest coffee drinkers had the lowest risk for coronary disease, and coffee consumption, in any amount, does not by itself increase the incidence of heart disease. The study, from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid in Spain, was conducted by researchers headed by Dr. Esther Lopez-Garcia and recently published online at the Journal of Circulation. The heaviest coffee drinkers (those who drank six or more cups a day for up to 20 years) had a slightly lower risk for developing cardiovascular disease than those who drank moderately (one cup or less per day.)
The unusually large study involved 44,005 male participants studied for 14 years and 84,488 female participants studied for 20 years. None of the participants had any history of cardiovascular disease or cancer at the beginning of the study. Of these more than 128,000 participants, only 1449 had nonfatal myocardial infarctions and 724 were fatal cases of coronary heart disease (CHD) among men. Among the women, only 1561 of those cases reported were nonfatal myocardial infarctions and 693 were fatal cases.
How the coffee was brewed was a critical element in the study. Only coffee made with a standard percolator or drip coffee machine was used. These two methods are well known to produce a milder cup than the French press which has come under fire frequently for producing not only stronger coffee but one that can increase of LDL,( Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol) the prime indicator in cholesterol testing that can indicate a risk for developing heart disease.
In addition to coffee brewing methods, the study also factored in such health issues as a history of Type II diabetes mellitus, BMI (body mass index) for weight-to-muscle analysis, alcohol consumption, and smoking. Smoking did appear to be a contributor to heart disease among these coffee drinkers who smoked. In a further incidence of irony, those participants who drank a lot of coffee and did not exercise and did not use multivitamins (particularly Vitamin E which is said to be heart helpful), were at lower risk for heart disease. Regular aspirin use was also factored in because aspirin has long been linked to preventing heart disease.
The statistics of the study indicated some differences between male and female participants but they were slight except when it came to the consumption of large quantities of coffee. Women fared much better than men and appear to have less risk. For both men and women, drinking only one cup per day actually poses a higher risk than consuming lesser amounts or considerably more amounts of coffee. In this case, those who consumed the least amount of coffee were at a higher risk for coronary heart disease.
More study will be done to understand why heavy, consistent consumption of coffee, and its caffeine, appears not to be a problem for many people. The study challenges the current caveat that older people should eliminate or cut down on the amount of caffeine they consume.
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