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A COFFEE A DAY COULD HELP YOU LIVE LONGER,
SAYS NEW STUDY FROM GREECE

Sept 02

One or two coffees a day could do more than help you stay alert, according to a recent study which concludes that coffee may well help people live longer by warding off heart disease. Researchers at the University of Athens have carried out the study and found that drinking a cup of coffee everyday improves the elasticity of the arteries, which helps prevent off heart disease.

The researchers have based their findings on an analysis of 485 people with high blood pressure. The subjects of the study were all aged between 65 and 100 and long term inhabitants of Ikaria, a Greek Island in the Agean. Known as the ‘land of longevity’, a third of residents reach the age of 90. Consideration was given to a wide range of socio-demographic, bio-clinical, lifestyle and dietary characteristics related to cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia and obesity. Physical activity was also evaluated.

Dr Christina Chrysohou, who led the study, said there was conflicting evidence about the effect of coffee drinking on heart health, with some research showing it aggravated high blood pressure. "But drinking coffee is a deeply embedded social tradition in Greek culture which made it imperative to probe on this island of 'high life-expectancy," she said.

In the study, the subjects' arteries were assessed for distensibility -- or elasticity. The 56 per cent who were moderate coffee drinkers consuming between one and two cups a day, had best arterial health, with their blood vessels behaving like those found in younger people. Their arteries were more elastic than those measured in people who drank little or no coffee. Around one in 10 who drank three or more cups a day had the least elasticity.

Dr Chrysohoou said moderate coffee drinkers consumed 25-50ml of coffee a day. Typically they were drinking strong Greek coffee but other types might work as well.

She suggested that ingredients such as caffeine and antioxidants may partly improve arterial function by increasing the ability to take up nitric oxide, which is impaired in hypertensive patients.

The findings were released at the European Society of Cardiology Congress in Stockholm.

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