More study to support coffee:

Drinking coffee may be linked to lower risk of death, even with a little sugar

It increases metabolism, ratchets brain function up to levels that can only be considered superhuman, and adds at least 430 years onto the normal human life. It also reduces the percentage of risk of me swearing at clients first thing in the morning. And afternoon. And evening.

Coffee and Mortality: Sweetening the Pot

Daniel D. Dressler, MD, MSc, MHM, FACP, reviewing Liu D et al. Ann Intern Med 2022 May 31 Wee CC. Ann Intern Med 2022 May 31

Moderate consumption of unsweetened or sugar-sweetened coffee was associated with lower mortality in an observational study.

In large cohort studies, moderate coffee consumption has been associated with lower mortality (NEJM JW Gen Med Aug 15 2017 and Ann Intern Med 2017; 167:236, 228). Whether such an association holds true for sweetened coffee is unknown. U.K. investigators assessed outcomes in a prospective cohort of >170,000 people (mean age, 56) who were free from heart disease and cancer and who reported drinking unsweetened, sugar-sweetened, or artificially sweetened coffee — or no coffee. Analyses were adjusted for sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical variables.

Compared with nonconsumers, consumers of either unsweetened or sweetened coffee had significantly lower mortality after a median 7 years; the association was strongest for 2 to 4 cups daily (hazard ratio, 0.7), with less-strong associations for both more and less consumption. Consumption of artificially sweetened coffee was not associated significantly with mortality, but smaller sample size might have limited detection. The type of coffee (i.e., instant, ground, or decaffeinated) did not affect these findings.

COMMENT

Associations between coffee consumption and mortality surely are confounded by numerous factors. If there is really a causal protective link, it might be related to coffee's chlorogenic acids, which — in addition to caffeine — have an antioxidant effect and inhibit platelet aggregation, as an editorialist notes. A study limitation is that, on average, only 4 g of sugar were added to sweetened coffee (likely less than many Americans add). Nevertheless, this study reaffirms that even sweetened coffee is likely not harmful and might even be beneficial.

Good for you liver too.

I'd still drink coffee if it literally caused cancer and made me blind.

been a fan of coffee since i worked at starbucks in high school. i know there are numerous benefits to coffee but i cannot drink more than 2 cups per day. back in the day i used to drink like 5 or 6 and would have the jitters for like hours. lol

To coffee lovers:


Does Coffee Promote Atrial Ectopy?
Molly S. Brett, MD, reviewing Marcus GM et al. N Engl J Med 2023 Mar 23

Caffeinated coffee was not associated with premature atrial contractions in this small, randomized trial.

Although many people believe that caffeinated coffee can cause cardiac ectopy, prior studies (mostly observational) have cast doubt on this alleged relation. In this randomized case-crossover study, 100 healthy adults (mean age, 39) without atrial fibrillation or heart failure wore continuous-recording electrocardiogram (ECG) patches and wrist accelerometers for 14 days. During this time, they were instructed randomly by text message to consume caffeinated coffee or avoid all caffeine during 2-day periods, resulting in 7 coffee-drinking periods and 7 no-caffeine periods. Participants pressed a button on their ECG patch when each coffee drink was consumed and filled out daily surveys about consumption.

At baseline, most participants consumed <1 cup of coffee daily. During the study, when participants were assigned to drink coffee, most drank 2 to 3 cups daily. The number of daily premature atrial contractions (PACs) was nearly identical on days with or without caffeinated coffee consumption (mean, 58 vs. 53 PACs daily). In exploratory analyses, more premature ventricular contractions (PVCs) occurred on coffee-drinking days (mean, 154 vs. 102 daily). Participants had higher step counts (≈1000 more steps) and less sleep (≈30 minutes less) on days they consumed coffee.

COMMENT

This trial provides further evidence that moderate coffee drinking is unlikely to cause atrial ectopy in healthy patients. The clinical significance of the small increase in daily PVCs observed on coffee-drinking days is uncertain. For healthy people, it's reasonable to leave decisions about coffee consumption to personal preference.

Coffee as a dietary strategy to prevent SARS-CoV-2 infection | Cell & Bioscience | Full Text

Both ground coffee and instant coffee were found to have benefits, as was decaffeinated coffee.

The coffee prevented entry of the SARS-CoV-2 infection by keeping the virus from entering host cells.

It did this by blocking the spike protein on SARS-COV-2 from binding to the enzyme ACE2, which is the primary receptor for the COVID-19 and is found in the lungs. It also reduced the activity of proteins and enzymes that are associated with severe COVID illness.
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Small study. But it adds to the MANY proven benefits of coffee (preferably caffeinated).

This is really interesting, thanks for posting. As someone with an abnormal heart rhythm, including PAC/PVCs, I can confirm this has been my experience as well. Some of my most abnormal heart rhythms have occurred when I’m not regularly consuming coffee. There seems to be no direct correlation unless I’m loading up on caffeine and sugar at the same time (in unusually high quantities). Then things flare up a bit. Regular cardiovascular exercise and good sleep seem to help the most. Coffee is negligible relative to that.

Have really enjoyed reading through these. I’ll be sticking with my morning cup of black coffee.

New study...confirms coffee is great! 😊

Does Coffee Raise Blood Pressure or Risk for Hypertension?
Sarah E. Post, MD, reviewing Trevano FQ et al. J Hypertens 2024 Jun

A cohort study shows no obvious effect on BP after 10 years of consumption.

Caffeine is a vasoactive compound that can raise blood pressure (BP) transiently, but data on the cardiovascular effects of habitual coffee drinking are mixed. In this prospective cohort study from Italy, researchers examined BP in 1400 participants who were stratified by self-reported daily coffee consumption: none, moderate (1–2 cups), or heavy (≥3 cups). Investigators collected office, home, and 24-hour ambulatory BP readings for each participant at baseline and after 10 years. Consumption categories for most participants did not change during follow-up.

The three groups were different somewhat at baseline: For example, heavy coffee consumers were younger, more likely to smoke, and less likely to be taking antihypertensive medications.

After adjustment for these confounders, the only significant finding was slightly lower mean office systolic BP in heavy consumers — compared with moderate consumers and nonconsumers — at baseline and 10-year follow-up; ambulatory and home readings were no different among groups at either time point. Measures of 24-hour BP variability and incidence of new hypertension were not different among groups.

COMMENT
These results suggest that regular coffee consumption does not lead to clinically meaningful differences in BP or incident hypertension. Patients can be reassured that a daily coffee habit is not likely to affect their BP.

Moreover, a recent large observational study suggested that coffee consumption is not associated with excess risk for cardiac arrhythmias.

Habitual Coffee, Tea, and Caffeine Consumption, Circulating Metabolites, and the Risk of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity | The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism | Oxford Academic

Drinking several cups of caffeinated coffee and tea may protect against type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, and stroke, new research finds.

Researchers followed up with participants after about 12 years and found that drinking two-to-three cups of coffee, or up to three cups of tea, a day was the sweet spot for cardiometabolic health.

Specifically, coffee drinkers had the lowest risk—nearly 50% reduction in risk—while people who consumed 200 to 300 mg of caffeine from tea or a mix of both beverages were about 40% less likely to develop cardiometabolic disease.

The study discovered that even for people who consumed more than 400 mg of caffeine a day—just 4% of the study’s caffeine drinkers—the stimulant didn’t appear to have negative consequences for their cardiometabolic health.

Page restricted | ScienceDirect

Researchers found that drinking around three cups of coffee a day was associated with an extra 1.8 years of life, with regular cups also being associated with increased health span (time spent living free from serious disease).

The authors of the study noted that having coffee regularly appears to aid muscular, cardiovascular, mental, and immune system functions. And, it may be linked to a lower risk of developing some of the most frequent diseases affecting older adults, like cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, dementia, depression, or frailty.

Coffee good.

Just a moment...

Drinking coffee in the morning may be more strongly associated with a lower risk of mortality than drinking coffee later in the day.

Dr Qi said further studies are needed to see if their findings could also be observed in other populations, adding: "We need clinical trials to test the potential impact of changing the time of day when people drink coffee."

"This study doesn't tell us why drinking coffee in the morning reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease," he explained.

"A possible explanation is that consuming coffee in the afternoon or evening may disrupt circadian rhythms [our bodies 24-hour cycle of physical, mental and behavioural changes] and levels of hormones such as melatonin.
"This, in turn, leads to changes in cardiovascular risk factors such as inflammation and blood pressure."

The researchers found that morning coffee drinkers were 16% less likely to have died compared to those who did not drink coffee, and 31% less likely to have died from heart disease.

They also saw no reduction in risk for all-day coffee drinkers compared to non-coffee drinkers.

The researchers said higher coffee intake amounts were "significantly" associated with a lower risk of death, but only among people who drank coffee in the morning compared with those who drank coffee all day.

Interesting information about coffee. Seems I have a longer life span if I drink coffee. Would be curious if different types of coffees or how they are produced have further effects long term.