Coffee time at Nagle’s. By Paul Goldfinger
This article was first published on Blogfinger in 2012. There is an update at the end.: *
NBC Nightly News (5/16/12) reported that a new study suggests that “coffee drinkers are slightly more likely to live longer than non-coffee drinkers.”
The Los Angeles Times (5/17/12) reports that for the study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, “the National Cancer Institute researchers turned to data on 402,260 adults who were between the ages of 50 and 71 when they joined the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study in 1995 and 1996.
The volunteers were followed through December 2008 or until they died — whichever came first.” The researchers found that, “compared with men who didn’t drink any coffee at all, those who drank just one cup per day had a 6% lower risk of death during the course of the study; those who drank two to three cups per day had a 10% lower risk, and those who had four to five cups had a 12% lower risk.”
Blogfinger Medical Commentary by Paul Goldfinger, MD, FACC:
This is what we have to say about coffee in our book “Prevention Does Work: A Guide to a Healthy Heart” by Eileen and Paul Goldfinger, published 2011, prior to this coffee study:
“Coffee drinking confers no protection (against heart disease,) and some studies in the past have suggested an increased risk with coffee. If coffee is boiled, as in Europe, it can raise cholesterol levels, but if filtered, as in the U.S., it does not. In addition, some studies suggest a health benefit of coffee in lowering the risk of gall bladder disease and colon cancer. A recent trial suggested that coffee can protect against Alzheimer’s disease.
Some individuals are sensitive to the caffeine in coffee and can experience heart palpitations, anxiety and insomnia. It is not true that all heart patients need to eliminate caffeine, but you should check with your doctor. Watch for hidden sources of caffeine such as colas and dark chocolate. One cup of tea has 50 mg., while coffee (brewed) has 135 mg of caffeine per 8 oz. cup. Colas contain 37-45 mg.in 12 oz, while dark chocolate has 30 mg. in a 1 1/2 oz bar.”
The trial described above is almost amusing since the relationship between coffee and dying in this study is a happy one for those of us who like coffee, but it doesn’t give a clue as to how the relationship works. Research trials in the past have been contradictory in terms of coffee as a risk factor for coronary heart disease. In one trial, they postulated that the milk we put in coffee accounts for an increased risk. I’ve always been suspicious of that conclusion because the milk we use in coffee doesn’t amount to much.
Skim milk is awful in coffee, and half ‘n half seems to me to be a scary item. Coffeemate contains high fructose corn syrup. My own approach is to use skim- plus in my coffee (that is skim milk with extra milk solids, so it is creamy, but is non-fat and has calcium and protein—a pretty darn good product in my anecdotal opinion). But if I’m at Wegmans and get coffee, they don’t offer skim-plus, so I use whole milk because I can’t believe that the one ounce of milk will hurt me.
So, now that this New England Journal of Medicine study has been hyped by the media, what have we learned? My conclusion is to drink coffee, as long as you know about the addictive and cardio-stimulatory potential of caffeine, and don’t worry about coffee as a risk factor for heart attacks.
Yet we all need something to worry about, so put coffee drinking on the back burner and worry instead about obesity, smoking, high blood pressure, diabetes, family history, hypertension, lack of exercise, stress, and diet.
And speaking of the latter, if you can, with your coffee, try to avoid the “and” which often accompanies the Joe. If you have to fear your food, forget worrying about coffee and instead try being scared to death of Dunkin Donuts, fast food, cheese danish, cream puffs, twinkies, fudge cake, etc etc. Avoid sugars of all types, bad fats, processed foods, excess calories and big portions. Have a cucumber with your morning joe and eat more fruit and oatmeal. Then walk around the block.
OK, now if I can only follow my own advice
* Editor”s Note: This coffee article was originally posted on BF in 2012. Now, in 2015, a new study from the National Institutes of Health shows that patients with stomach cancer experience reduced mortality rates and lowered recurrent cancer with coffee drinking. The study was reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology and studied 1,000 cancer patients. The benefit was with caffeinated coffee, over 4 cups per day. The research on coffee has also shown reduced risk of Parkinsonism, type II diabetes, and some cancers. (August, 2015)
Here is a 2015 link: www.nbcnews.com/health/cancer/coffee-aids-colon-cancer-recovery-study-finds-n411326
FRANK SINATRA “Coffee Song.”