The research was conducted by studying half a million people aged 38-73 years old from the UK. Of the group, 78% drank between one to eight cups of coffee a day. The scientists monitored the deaths of the participants over a ten-year period.
Coffee drinkers who had six or seven cups a day did the best and were 16% less likely to die from any disease over the decade long study, in comparison to their non-coffee drinking counterparts. Those who consumed eight cups or more, which is twice the amount of caffeine recommended by the UK Food Standards Agency had a 14% cut in their death rate. However, drinking no coffee at all reduced mortality by a minor 6%.
Yet the results were not strictly limited to the presence of caffeine in the coffee. The participants were exposed to ground, instant, and decaffeinated varieties. Lead author of the JAMA study and cancer epidemiologist, Erikka Loftfield explained how the findings suggested the importance of “non-caffeine constituents” such as decaf in the coffee-mortality association.
The study highlights how drinking coffee on a daily basis can be enjoyed as part of a healthy diet. Even the heaviest of coffee drinkers can rest assured that their favourite beverage is not associated with health risks such as cardiovascular disease.