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By LINDSEY TANNER
AP Medical
CHICAGO – Go ahead and take that cup of coffee, maybe even several more. New research shows that this can increase the chances of a longer life, even for those who drink at least eight cups a day.
In a study of nearly half a million British adults, coffee drinkers
The apparent increase in longevity was observed with instant results, ground and decaffeinated, which echo American research. This is the first major study to suggest a benefit, even in people with genetic problems affecting caffeine consumption.
Overall, coffee drinkers were 10 to 15% less likely to die than abstainers for a decade. Differences in the amount of coffee consumed and genetic variation were minimal.
The results do not prove that your coffee maker is a fountain of youth nor a reason for abstainers to start drinking coffee, says Alice Lichtenstein, a nutritionist at Tufts University who was not involved in the research. But she said the results reinforce previous research and add extra badurance for coffee drinkers.
"It's hard to believe that anything we love so much can be good for us." Lichtenstein says:
The study was published Monday in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine
It is unclear exactly how drinking coffee could affect longevity.The main author, Erikka Loftfield, a researcher at the US National Cancer Institute, said that coffee contains more than 1,000 chemical compounds, including antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage.
the body uses insulin, which can reduce the risk of developing diabetes.Loftfield reported that efforts to explain the potential benefit of longevity continue.
Adam Taylor, fetching two iced coffees for friends Monday in downtown Chicago, said the study's findings made sense. " said Taylor, an ingenious r of the sound of Las Vegas.
"I'm trying to have just one cup a day," Taylor said. "Otherwise I'm getting a little hyper."
For the study, the researchers invited 9 million British adults to take part; 498,134 women and men aged 40 to 69 were in agreement. According to the researchers, the low participation rate means that the people concerned have been in better health than the general population of the United Kingdom.
Participants completed questionnaires on daily coffee consumption, exercise and other habits. Most were coffee drinkers; 154,000 or nearly a third drink two to three cups a day and 10,000 drink at least eight cups a day.
Over the next decade, 14,225 people died, mostly from cancer or heart disease.
blood pressure, and some smaller studies have suggested that it could be related to high blood pressure, especially in people with genetic variation that causes them to metabolize caffeine slowly.
But coffee drinkers in the British study did not have the risks of dying from heart disease and other causes related to high blood pressure. And since all causes of death were combined, even the slow metabolizers of caffeine had a stimulating effect on longevity.
As in previous studies, coffee drinkers were more likely than abstainers to drink alcohol and smoke.
Research did not include whether participants drank black coffee or with cream and sugar. But Lichtenstein said that loading coffee with extra fat and calories is not healthy.
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