Coffee Addiction Might Save Your Life

A new study — one of the biggest of its kind ever — out of the Autonomous University of Madrid finds that drinking excessive amounts of coffee can actually help prevent heart disease in large percentages of men and women. In your FACE, yoga!

From New Scientist:

The study tracked 129,000 men and women over two decades. It found that people who consumed several cups of coffee every day were less likely to die of heart disease than those who shied away from the stuff. Heart disease is an umbrella term for conditions including heart attacks, stroke, and arrhythmia.

The researchers found that women who drank four to five cups per day were 34% less likely to die of heart disease, while men who had more than five cups a day were 44% less likely to die.


This is the kind of news that can brighten your day as much as that second (or fifth) cup of java in the morning. It’s gratifying to hear that a habit that always seemed vaguely fatal may actually be a real (and metaphorical) life-saver. Of course, the coverage of this study isn’t without its dissenting opinions:

Other studies have, however, shown just the opposite. In 2007, Sofi analysed more than 20 studies of health and coffee drinking and found little consensus.

One explanation for these conflicting results could be genetic. In 2006, a team of Canadian researchers discovered that people with a mutation in a gene involved in metabolising caffeine had higher rates of heart attack than people without the mutation.

Ah, well, sounds like the same old thing: “Whatever you’re doing may be healthy. But it may kill you and make you fat.” We get it for red wine, carbohydrates, meat, chocolate and everything else worth consuming. When is somebody going to publish a story on the possible health benefits of onion rings with ranch dressing?

Guzzling coffee may cut heart disease [New Scientist]
Coffee May Prevent Heart Disease [Boing Boing]

[Photo: Buzz!! via [n]/flickr]

Coffee Addiction Might Save Your Life