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July 24, 2012
It is considered that drinking too much of coffee is not a very good idea. Mainly because coffee is rich in caffeine and can cause such symptoms as increased irritability, chest pains, elevated blood pressure and increased heart rate, mild digestive disorders, or anxiety disorders. However, numerous studies have proven positive health effects of coffee, giving all fans of this amazing beverage a reason to drink it every day. According to Neil Osterweil, one of the leading WebMD experts, coffee health effects include decreased risks of type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, depression, prostate and skin cancer. Besides, as the group of scientists reported in the Journal of Experimental Psychology in 2011, coffee consumption is linked to better abilities to focus, improved learning skills and productivity. To fully enjoy theses amazing coffee health benefits, all we need to do is just avoid excessive coffee consumption and stick with drinking 2-3, at most 4 small cups of coffee a day.
The good news for coffee drinkers was recently reported by an expert team of scientists at the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Maryland. They found out that consuming high quality black coffee in moderation (about 4-5 cups a day) has positive effects for the elderly people, and can help extend their life! According to their findings, those who drink coffee on a daily basis have reduced chances to die from many common diseases, including heart attack, heart disease, a stroke, diabetes, infections, respiratory diseases, accidents, traumas, and others. 
The only serious health condition which is not in this list is cancer. Those are the conclusions reported after analyzing an extensive data on over 400 thousand participants in their fifties and sixties. Undoubtedly, longevity is among the new health effects of coffee since it is the first time it is mentioned among coffee health benefits.
The data was collected for 14 years in the framework of an extended health study and included the information about daily diet, eating habits, and other related details on 173,000 women and 229,000 men. To study health effects of coffee, all the participants were divided into several groups by various criteria, including their daily coffee consumption. There were several groups, starting from ‘consuming no coffee at all’ and ending up with ‘drinking over 6 cups a day’. During the study, 52 thousand participants lost their lives, and there were close inverse associations found between coffee consumption and risks to die. In other words, drinking moderate amounts of coffee on a regular basis can reduce risks of dying, giving this amazing property a very important place among the most important known coffee health benefits.
Experts underline that the mechanisms of the newly discovered coffee health effects are yet unknown, and they are less likely linked to a high caffeine content in high quality coffee. It is reported that about one third of coffee drinking participants of the study were actually using caffeine-free types of coffee. There is a hypothesis that the mentioned health effects of coffee can be attributed to biological properties of antioxidants and magnesium which are also in plenty in high quality coffee. ‘This important research adds to the overwhelming weight of evidence which demonstrates that moderate coffee consumption of 4-5 cups of coffee per day is safe and may be associated with certain health benefits,” commented Dr Euan Paul, one of the leading experts of the British Coffee Association. The importance of further studies to confirm the inverse links between daily coffee consumption and total mortality risks is out of question.
Check out more information about these newly discovered health effects of coffee and the conclusions of this study in this article.
Author Info: Hi! My name is Carla and I am a 5th year medical student at HYMS. I am interested in alternative medicine and I have done months researching the topic of herbal medicine. Besides, I like interviewing people and learning more about their experiences with one or another type of herbal treatments. I am willing to contribute to this site with my knowledge, and I would be happy to help you out to the best of my ability with any specific questions or problems related to alternative medicine.
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