Coffee is a major dietary source of antioxidants. Antioxidants neutralize harmful free radicals (toxic byproducts of metabolic functions) and protect against inflammatory or oxidative stress. Research suggests that oxidative stress (damage caused by free radicals) is a major factor involved in inflammation, heart disease, and age-related diseases. The link between coffee intake and risk of death from disease due to oxidative stress has not been previously studied. Now for the first time, a study reports that drinking one to three cups of coffee daily may help prevent death from heart disease or other inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women.
The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, investigated the association of coffee drinking with the risk of death from heart disease and other inflammatory diseases. Researchers from the University of Oslo, in Oslo, Norway, analyzed data from the Iowa Women's Health study including 27,312 postmenopausal women, aged 55 to 69 years, who did not have heart disease, diabetes or cancer (except for skin cancer) at the beginning of the study. Surveys obtained from the participants were analyzed for coffee intake, cigarette and alcohol use, and other health habits (including diet and exercise). In a 15 year follow-up from 1986 to 2000, there were 1,411 deaths from heart disease, 1,733 deaths from cancer, and 1,211 deaths from other diseases.
The researchers found that participants who drank one to three cups of coffee daily reduced the risk of death from heart attack by 24 percent, compared to those who didn't drink coffee. In addition, participants who drank one to three cups of coffee daily reduced the risk of death from noncancerous inflammatory diseases by 28 percent, compared to those who didn't drink coffee. However, findings did not reveal an association between coffee intake and cancer deaths.
"Consumption of coffee, a major source of dietary antioxidants, may inhibit inflammation and thereby reduce the risk of cardiovascular and other inflammatory diseases in postmenopausal women," the study authors conclude.
REFERENCES:
1. Andersen LF et al. Consumption of coffee is associated with reduced risk of death attributed to inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases in the Iowa Women's Health Study. Am J Clin Nutr 2006 May;83(5):1039-46.
Posted by Elaine Gavalas on August 18, 2006 02:23 PM
