Drinking coffee may lead to longer life.

A diet and health study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that coffee drinkers may live longer because they have a lower risk of dying from a variety of diseases.

NIH-AARP followed more than 400000 people between the ages of 50 and 71 over a 12-year period. By the time the follow-up investigation stopped, about 52000 respondents had died. This survey is not only one of the largest studies on this topic, but also one of the most forward-looking projects in the history of nutrition and disease research.

Prior to this, a number of studies on the benefits or dangers of regular coffee consumption have given conflicting results. Many regular coffee drinkers are also smokers, which makes coffee research more difficult to draw conclusions.

But this study found that coffee drinkers were more likely to become smokers. They also like to eat more red meat, fewer vegetables and fruits, exercise less and consume more alcohol. Obviously, these are behaviors related to poor health. When the researchers ruled out these additional factors, there was still data showing that people who drank more coffee had a lower risk of dying from the following health problems: diabetes, heart disease, respiratory diseases, strokes, infections, even injuries and accidents. Compared with non-drinkers, people who drank two to six cups of coffee a day had a 10% lower mortality rate for men and 15% lower mortality for women. And whether the respondents drank caffeinated coffee or non-caffeinated coffee, they could reach similar conclusions.

Although the published research still does not prove a clear link between coffee consumption and cancer, it points out that coffee consumption may lead to a modest reduction in the overall incidence of cancer. A cup of mocha a day may reduce the risk of cancer by about 3%, especially bladder, breast, oral, colorectal, endometrial, esophageal, liver, leukemia, pancreatic and prostate cancer.

But Friedman, lead author of the study and a researcher at the National Cancer Research Center, said: "the data from this observational study only show a correlation between coffee consumption and lower mortality. We don't know if drinking more coffee is healthier. People should interpret this data carefully. " While comforting coffee lovers by saying, "generally speaking, drinking coffee regularly is good for your health," he stressed, "I still don't advise patients to drink too much coffee. Not because it is unhealthy, but because there are healthier choices. For example, I encourage people to eat more fruits, apples and other berries are best, I also encourage people to choose healthier drinks, such as green tea. "

All in all, for most people, consuming less than 1000 milligrams of caffeine is considered harmless, which is equivalent to 10 cups of coffee a day.

However, pregnant women should limit their daily caffeine intake to less than 200 milligrams.

In particular, coffee may also worsen some health conditions, such as insomnia, anxiety, acid reflux (heartburn), high blood pressure and some symptoms of arrhythmia. Mixtures in coffee can also increase cholesterol, but these mixtures can be effectively removed through filter paper, so drip coffee is more popular than boiled coffee and French filter-pressure espresso. Even the way coffee is consumed has a direct impact on human health-a medical literature has just published a case entitled "rectal perforation caused by rectal burns associated with hot coffee enemas".

Therefore, based on a variety of analyses, some people have come to the conclusion that the effects of coffee on health seem to offset the pros and cons.

Summary of studies on coffee and health

● benefits:

◇ reduces the risk of suicide in women

◇ helps to prevent the onset of gallstones and gallbladder diseases in men.

◇ contains caffeine (theophylline) to relieve asthma symptoms in some cases.

◇ can exhilarate people and extend working hours

◇ enhances short-term memory

◇ enhances the efficacy of some migraine drugs

◇ can reduce the risk of liver cirrhosis in alcoholics.

◇ can relieve muscle fatigue and enhance exercise performance and endurance.

◇ protects tissues from damage by free radicals-some studies have found that coffee has a stronger antioxidant effect than red wine, green tea, black tea or orange juice

● risk:

◇ can further increase the blood pressure of patients with hypertension.

◇ can easily cause insomnia, anxiety and hyperactivity.

◇ can worsen premenstrual syndrome in some women

◇ can reduce the fertility of women with pregnancy plans.

◇ can cause heartburn and indigestion

◇ increases the risk of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women

◇ increases blood homocysteine levels and increases the risk of coronary heart disease.