Live Longer. Drink More Coffee, Supposedly
There's More To Coffee Than You Think... Health Benefits
As you might expect, we’re big advocates of drinking coffee for many reasons here at GUSTATORY. However, science is now backing this up with more and more studies detailing and evidencing the health benefits of a good cup of coffee. Asking the question: 'Is coffee is good for you?' is one we’ve covered before and there we detailed some of the recently advised health benefits associated with speciality coffee.
Correlation between drinking coffee and living longer
Here we shed some light on a recent study carried out by Annals of Internal Medicine based on data from more than 171,000 participants of the UK BioBank. The study is seemingly very extensive and showed a direct correlation between drinking coffee and living longer. This is good news for those who are questioning their coffee consumption - maybe you don’t need to cut back on coffee after all.
The study also brought good news to those who enjoyed sugar in their coffee. With speciality coffee we would generally advise you to avoid adding sugar as we personally think that coffee is delicious enough as it is and all flavour nuances are best tasted without anything extra, least mention if you’re opting for a flat white or latte in which any milk adds a nice amount of sweetness anyhow. But if you are feeling guilty about your sugar consumption then the study (May 2022, Annals of Internal Medicine) found that even those participants who added a spoonful of sugar to their coffee still saw positive results.
In the study, after taking into account factors including age, sex, ethnicity, educational level, smoking status, amount of physical activity, body mass index and diet, the research found that, compared with those who did not drink coffee, people who consumed a moderate amount of sweetened coffee had the lowest risk of death. As the study explains, "...compared to non-coffee drinkers, adults who drank moderate amounts (1.5 to 3.5 cups per day) of unsweetened coffee or coffee sweetened with sugar were less likely to die during a 7-year follow up period." [Statisticaly speaking] "...participants who drank any amount of unsweetened coffee were 16 to 21 percent less likely to die than participants who did not drink coffee. They also found that participants who drank 1.5 to 3.5 daily cups of coffee sweetened with sugar were 29 to 31 percent less likely to die than participants who did not drink coffee." study (May 2022, Annals of Internal Medicine)
Coffee needn't be thought of as unhealthy at all
So, how can we interpret this? Well, regardless of whether coffee consumption alone makes you live longer, we think it’s safe to say that drinking a moderate amount of coffee certainly isn’t going to be detrimental for you. Sure, if you’re drinking too many cups a day then the caffeine may effect things like sleep quality due to the half life of coffee. And certainly, if you favour lots of sugar in your coffee then too much isn’t the best for you for many reasons beyond this study. But for that delicious wholebean coffee, the coffee health benefits are certainly well documented online as well as overviewed by us.
The validity of the study has been investigated with some pointing out that those who drink coffee are generally more affluent than not given the culture associated with speciality coffee, and thereby there are many other lifestyle factors involved. We agree, and surely in every study that ever existed there are caveats provided against all drawn conclusions, with (in)direct inputs beyond the topic of study playing their part. However, hopefully we’ve raised the point here that great coffee doesn’t at all need to be thought as unhealthy.
With GUSTATORY existing to make speciality coffee as accessible to as many people as possible through our marketplace or coffee subscriptions, to this news we raise a cup, let's drink more coffee and no longer feel guilty about it; if you’re thinking of getting into coffee then perhaps this will provide you some peace of mind, or even inspiration. It goes without saying that we did not contribute to or take part in this research stufy, and if you wish to read and understand more on the topic to draw your own conclusions, please do visit the study online at Annals of Internal Medicine.
GUSTATORY (adjective): curating excellence in taste.