A review of studies claims that this drink reduces the risk of death.
Many preconceived ideas still circulate today about the effect of our diet on health. The same goes for our favorite drinks, including one of the most consumed by the French: coffee. Good or bad? And at what dose? A review of studies carried out in Portugal and published in Aging Research Reviews attempted to see things more clearly. It concludes that “coffee consumption alleviates the main causes of mortality, reducing mortality associated with cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, cancer and respiratory diseases, as well as some of the main causes of functional deterioration in older adults, such as memory loss , depression and fragility”.
According to the authors of the study, drinking coffee regularly (around three cups per day, all the same!) would increase “healthy life expectancy by 1.8 years”. This positive effect of coffee on mortality has been demonstrated “in more than 50 studies” that the Portuguese researchers analyzed.
Be careful, however, this review of Portuguese studies loses a little credibility since it was financed by the non-profit association Institute for Scientific Information on Coffee. However, its members include companies in the coffee sector such as Lavazza, Nestlé and illycaffè, all actors who therefore have every interest in selling us that coffee is a perfect elixir for our body… This study on Are the benefits of coffee a joke? Don't put your mug away right away, other results are worth looking into!
The numerous other studies carried out do indeed show a positive effect on health with moderate coffee consumption. Doctor Jimmy Mohammed, presenter of the show Le Magazine de la santé, recalled on RTL in 2023 that coffee “reduces mortality”, and that it reduces “cardiovascular risk by 15 to 20%” , provided you drink one to four cups per day.
A study published the same year showed a “decrease in all-cause mortality and mortality linked to cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, cholesterol, and heart failure.” Another study published in 2022 in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology showed that “consumption of two to three cups of coffee per day is linked to greater longevity and a lower risk of cardiovascular diseases, compared to a lack of coffee.
There is therefore ample evidence of the health benefits of coffee. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) also states that a daily consumption of 400 mg of caffeine, or 4 cups of coffee, does not pose a health problem. However, you must be careful of excess caffeine, which is contained in coffee but also in tea, in energy drinks and in certain sodas. Pregnant women should also be vigilant with coffee consumption and limit themselves to two cups per day.
