New Reports Show More Evidence of Coffee’s Health Benefits

Two new studies continue to prove why coffee is a good idea (most days and in reasonable moderation.)

Research noted this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal showed significant correlation between coffee and being in good health. Two studies further suggested the more coffee you drink, the more your risk of dying from an illness such heart disease - the number one killer of both men and women. Both decaf and caffeinated coffee had the same effect on the studies subjects.

One of the studies examined results from 185,000 people across multiple ethnicities include African Americans, Japanese Americans, Native Hawaiians, Latinos and caucasians. Their coffee consumption patterns were measured over a 16-year period layered on top of if they smoked or were currently living with an illness.

Conclusions included that greater consumption of coffee was linked to lower risk of death in all populations except Native Hawaiians, which showed no notable difference.

Those subjects that consumed 2-4 cups per day had an 18% lower risk of dying from diseases like heart disease, stroke and cancer versus those who didn’t consume the beverage.

The second study examined 520,000 people in 10 European countries over the same time period. Researchers found that coffee consumption lowered the risk for mortality, especially from digestive and circulatory diseases.

The first study did define a cup of coffee as 8 ounces but didn’t explicitly say what type of coffee it was or what was in it. Obviously drinking coffee with excessive amounts of cream and sugar can have nutritional impact but this was not identified in the study.

In most other studies regarding coffee’s health benefits, it was noted that coffee when consumed black was where the most health benefits came about.

Researchers still tout that it’s too soon to recommend endless amounts of coffee as naturally it’s a diuretic and can have an impact on energy levels being volatile but still worth considering and following this body of research as findings get consistently built upon.

Eat the same thing Most Days? Find out if this is healthy for you.

The Pros

Of all your meals and snacks, if fruit, vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, healthy fat and dairy you’re off to a great start. Variability in your diet including all the important food groups is critical. About 90% of Americans don’t get enough recommended daily amount of vegetables and 85% don’t get enough of the recommended daily amount of fruit, as noted from the most updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Repetition and balance in your daily meal plans is good practice when it comes to meal preparation and planning. Having a healthy plan in place allows you to be prepared and not eat foods when you’re bored that you’re not even hungry for.

Other research does suggest a non-diverse diet is also a great alternative. A study from 2015 highlighted diet quality and variability in over 5K adults and found that the more diverse diet was associated to a greater waist circumference and a higher quality diet was associated with a lower risk of Type 2 Diabetes. Diversity in eating didn’t necessarily lead to a higher quality diet or better metabolic health.  

The Cons

But it’s important to think on the other side because if your daily diet is balanced, it probably doesn’t contain everything you need. There’s really no way you can meet dietary requirements by eating the same thing every day. Variety is essential to a healthy, balanced diet.

Studies have found health benefits associated with eating a more varied diet. A 2015 study, for example, examined the diets of over 7,000 adults who were at least 20 years old. It concluded that greater food variety was associated with a lower risk of metabolic syndrome compared to those who consumed a less varied diet.

The Bottom Line

Eating different foods is important, what’s more critical is what you choose to eat. A notable research study from 2002 evaluated healthy and less-healthy foods and how it affect mortality in close to 60,000 women.

A woman who followed a healthy diet by eating a high variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grain breads, cereals, fish and low-fat dairy products had lower mortality than women who consumes fewer of these foods.