Six coffees a day can cut risk of early death

WHETHER you like a trendy flat white or prefer decaf, it’s news that should leave you full of beans.

People who drink six cups of coffee a day are 16 per cent less likely to die early, a study found. The reduced risk was found to be similar for all types of coffee – including instant, decaffeinated or ground – suggesting the benefits are not linked to caffeine.

Scientists believe that natural antioxidants found in the plant compounds can help to protect against some cancers and cardiovascular disease.

US researchers looked at the mortality rates of almost half a million Britons over ten years in relation to their coffee intake. Generally, the more cups people drank, the lower their chances of dying sooner from those diseases.

This peaked at between six and seven cups, where rates fell by a sixth compared to those who never drink coffee.

But even those who drink twice the recommended amount of four cups a day saw their chances of dying early reduced by 14 per cent, according to the researchers from the National Cancer Institute in Maryland.

Coffee has overtaken tea as Britain’s favourite drink, with an estimated 55 million cups consumed every day.

The European Food Safety Agency advises that people drink no more than four cups a day, saying those who do run the risk of anxior ety, sleeplessness, heart rhythm disturbances or heart failure. Yet the US findings suggest the health benefits extend to the decaffeinated variety, without the pitfalls of caffeine.

The protective effect was also identified among moderate and light coffee drinkers but to a lesser degree. Two to five cups, one cup, less than one cup a day reduced early mortality by 12, eight and six per cent, respectively, over the same period.

The results were adjusted for lifestyle factors, such as smoking and diet.

The findings, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, add to the growing evidence coffee can be part of a healthy diet, the authors say.

In 2016, the World Health Organisation withdrew its warnings on a link between coffee and bladder cancer and instead said the drink could help protect against womb and liver cancer. However, pregnant women are at greater risk of losing their baby if they drink too much coffee, and caffeine also slightly raises the risk of bone fractures among women.

Victoria Taylor, senior dietitian at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘What is interesting is the study looked at different types of coffee consumed, such as instant, ground coffee and decaffeinated coffee.

‘All types showed a lower risk of death with increasing coffee drinking, but more research is needed to understand what is behind this.’

‘Can be part of a healthy diet’