Scientists and physicians have long debated whether coffee helps, or hurts, your longtime health. In the May 17, 2012 New England Journal of Medicine ("NEJM"), the coffee drinkers get a pass. The Study bears a title that only the a medical journal could endorse: "Association of Coffee Drinking With Total And Cause-Specific Mortality."
The authors studied the association of death and coffee drinking among 402,000 people. It concluded that coffee consumption was "inversely associated" with "total and cause-specific mortality." Translation: coffee drinking was not linked to a higher rate of death. The lack of a correlation was most specific with heart disease, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes and infection. While the study cautions that scientists cannot be sure of the lack of a link, it speculates that the many antioxidants in coffee might be helpful in promoting long-term health. Though cautioning over-reliance, the study concludes that "our reliance provides reassurance with respect to the concern that coffee drinking might adversely affect health."
Chalk one up for the coffee drinkers!
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