Protection against a number of cancers.In particular, the coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, injuries and accidents, diabetes, and infections. The largest study to date, a joint project last year by the NIH's National Cancer Institute and AARP that followed 400,000 men and women ages 50 to 71 for more than 10 years, found that those who regularly drank coffee - either decaf or regular - had a lower risk of overall death than did nondrinkers. Some of the benefits you might be getting from your favorite cup of joe Or it could be that one of the more than 1,000 compounds that coffee naturally contains boosts our health. It could be, for example, that coffee drinkers are more active and social. Keep in mind that these studies found an association between better health and coffee drinking, but researchers haven't yet found exactly what causes these benefits. A 2008 Swedish study found a similar result in older men.Ĭaffeine aside, coffee can be considered a healthy drink, judging by the preponderance of research suggesting it may protect against a variety of diseases and help us live longer. study and a 2011 Swedish study both found that older women who drink more than a cup of caffeinated coffee daily have a 20 to 25 percent lower risk of stroke. Coffee lowers the risk of stroke for older women.Decaf had a weaker effect, while no protection was found with tea. Older adults who drank four or more 8-ounce cups of regular coffee daily were half as likely to die of mouth and upper throat cancer. Some studies have found that those who drink lots of coffee (but not decaf) seem to be four to eight times less likely to develop Parkinson's disease, according to the NIH's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and "that is more likely to be due to caffeine" than to any nutrients in coffee, says van Dam. Now, the good news about caffeine (and, of course, coffee)Ĭaffeine has been shown to protect against a host of problems. Decaf coffee has significantly less of a reflux effect, studies have found. Caffeine seems to be the main culprit by relaxing the sphincter muscle that normally keeps stomach acid from bubbling up the esophagus. Caffeine's not your friend if you have acid reflux.Neither will switching methods of brewing or roasting. Switching to decaf won't help: In fact some research has found that decaf increases stomach acid even more than caffeinated coffee. Coffee is highly acidic and is irritating to the gastrointestinal tract. Coffee's not your friend if you're prone to heartburn.Here's what you need to know if you have a touchy tummy If you have problems with acid reflux or heartburn, then coffee and even tea might not be right for you.Īnd if you have high cholesterol and you don't want your coffee adding to the problem, you need to use a paper filter to trap the cafestol, a compound in coffee that raises LDL cholesterol levels, says van Dam. An older woman should make sure she gets at least 800 mg of calcium daily - through food or supplements - to offset caffeine's effect on calcium, adds Bess Dawson-Hughes, M.D., director of the Bone Metabolism Laboratory at Tufts University in Boston.Ĭoffee itself can also mess with your stomach. Caffeine potentially leads to some spinal bone loss in postmenopausal women if they typically drink more than three cups, or 300 mg of caffeine, a day, but don't get enough calcium in their diet, says Linda Massey, emeritus professor of nutrition at Washington State University.
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