So many cups of coffee a day can prolong life

Of FITBOOK | Sep 29, 2022 at 2:06 p.m

Various studies have shown that the consumption of coffee can have positive effects on your health. A recent study shows how drinking coffee affects life expectancy – even if you prefer decaffeinated coffee.

Relationship between coffee and life expectancy

In the Australian study, the scientists looked at the impact of coffee consumption compared to not drinking coffee. They also studied the effects of different types of coffee: ground, soluble and decaffeinated. The focus was on a possible connection between drinking coffee and the occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias, cardiovascular diseases and death.1

Study with 449,563 participants

The study was based on data from adults between the ages of 40 and 69 that came from the UK Biobank. The study included 449,563 participants who had no cardiac arrhythmias or other cardiovascular diseases at baseline. The median age was 58 years and 55.3 percent were women. The subjects filled out questionnaires in which they indicated how many cups of coffee they consumed each day. They also indicated whether they drank instant coffee, ground coffee (e.g. in the form of filter coffee, cappuccino) or decaffeinated coffee.

Based on the answers, the researchers divided the subjects into six categories of daily coffee consumption a:

1. No coffee
2. Less than a cup
3. A cup
4. Two to three cups
5. Four to five cups
6. More than five cups

The follow-up period was 12.5 years. During this time, 27,809 (6.2 percent) participants died. 43,173 (9.6 percent) subjects developed cardiovascular disease and 30,100 (6.7 percent) participants experienced cardiac arrhythmia. Factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, obstructive sleep apnea, smoking status, and tea and alcohol consumption are also taken into account when comparing the amount and type of coffee with the aforementioned diseases and deaths.

Does the type of coffee matter?

According to the Australian study, the answer is: hardly. Because all types of coffee have been linked to a reduction in the risk of death and cardiovascular disease (albeit to varying degrees). In the case of cardiac arrhythmias, the caffeine content seems to be particularly important. When evaluating the data, the researchers found that instant and ground coffee reduced the risk of cardiac arrhythmia – but not decaffeinated coffee.

Number of cups of coffee per day that appear to prolong life

According to the new findings, the magic formula or dose is: two to three cups of coffee are optimal for a life-prolonging effect. Only in one special case does a higher amount of four to five cups seem to work better.

• Two to three cups of coffee (of any kind) per day lower the risk of death (14 percent for decaffeinated, 27 percent for ground and 11 percent for instant coffee)
• per dayG Drinking two to three cups of coffee (of any kind) reduces the risk of heart disease (6 percent for decaffeinated, 20 percent for ground, 9 percent for instant coffee)
• The daily consumption of two to three cups of instant coffee lowered the risk of cardiac arrhythmia (12 percent)
• Four to five cups of ground coffee a day reduce the risk of cardiac arrhythmia (17 percent)

Also interesting: How many cups of coffee per day have a positive effect on heart health?

A 2021 study comes to similar conclusions

A previous study by Chung-Ang University and the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency also examined the life-prolonging effect of coffee. She concluded, «High coffee consumption is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality.» According to the South Korean research team, real benefits only become apparent when you drink more than three cups of coffee a day. The type and variety of coffee is irrelevant.2

Study with over 170,000 subjects

Health benefits of more than three cups of coffee a day

The research team found that people who drank at least three cups of coffee a day had a lower risk of all-cause mortality than non-coffee drinkers. Participants who drank fewer than three cups a day had a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease than non-coffee drinkers. As early as 2015, a study by Harvard’s TH Chan School of Public Health with more than 200,000 subjects came to the conclusion that up to five cups a day could reduce the risk of premature death by up to 15 percent. It is irrelevant whether it is coffee with or without caffeine.3

Also interesting: The influence of coffee consumption on the risk of uterine cancer

Researchers say the daily coffee limit is six cups

In Germany alone, the per capita consumption of bean coffee in 2021 was around 169 liters (FITBOOK reported). According to the EU Food Safety Authority EFSA, up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day are harmless for an adult without any previous health problems.4 This corresponds to around four 200 milliliter cups of filter coffee or four simple espressos.

Study with over 347,000 subjects

The subject of the study was health data and information on the lifestyle of around 347,100 people between the ages of 37 and 73. The data were taken from the UK Biobank, a database in which study participants are followed over a longer period of time. Factors such as genetics and external environmental influences were taken into account. The researchers also included any gene variants that influence the breakdown of caffeine in the body in their analysis.

Health disadvantages of more than six cups of coffee a day

They found out that high coffee consumption – more than six cups a day – causes blood lipid levels to rise sharply. This in turn promotes diseases of the cardiovascular system. According to Professor Hyppönen, there is an interaction: the more coffee you drink, the greater the risk of cardiovascular disease. The result did not come as a complete surprise to the head of the study. «Most people can agree that drinking a lot of coffee can make you feel jittery, irritable, or even nauseated,» she explains in a press release.6 «That’s because caffeine makes the body work faster and harder According to Hyppönen, the (often desired) metabolism-stimulating effect of caffeine can therefore assume dangerous proportions.

Also interesting: The healthiest way to prepare coffee

How do you define «a cup» of coffee?

Also interesting: Whether you like strong or thin coffee is obviously not a question of taste

Listen to your own body when dosing

Zhou emphasizes that it is important to listen to the body’s own signals and to react if necessary. In other words, if you have the feeling that you have already had enough caffeine – even if it was «only» four cups – you should postpone your next coffee to the following day. You probably behave automatically, as researcher Hyppönen recommends, in moderation. Because «whatever is exaggerated, you pay for it with your health».

The amazing effect of sugar in coffee

Quite a few coffee drinkers not only put milk in their caffeinated hot drink from time to time – they also sweeten it with sugar. Does this possibly negate the positive health effect? That’s what researchers at Southern Medical University in Guangzhou, Chin, wanted to find out. Over a period of seven years, they observed the coffee consumption and the state of health of 171,000 people whose data was stored in the UK Biobank. The subjects had no cancer and no diagnosed heart disease at baseline.