New study finds coffee drinkers likely live longer
HAILEY GAJADHAR, CONTRIBUTOR
TJ Schultz (left) and David Penner grab coffee between classes at The Roblin Centre.
THE PROJECTOR/Hailey Gajadhar
Coffee may offer more health benefits than a mental pick-me-up, a new study suggests.
Researchers at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health have found a link between coffee and coffee drinkers’ risk of dying prematurely.
The Harvard study, which spanned over 30 years, showed coffee drinkers were less likely to die from type 2 diabetes, liver cancer, lethal prostate cancer, some neurological diseases, cardiovascular disease and suicide.
Researchers considered coffee drinkers to be anyone who drinks one to five cups of coffee per day. They concluded the bioactive compounds in coffee may be what are helping. These compounds can be found in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee.
“I wish I could believe that’s true,” said Taylor Woodcock, 25. “If you’re drinking triple-triples everyday, I don’t really see there being any health benefits.”
Woodcock, a business administration student at Red River College, said he thinks the benefits of coffee might be true, but the sugar and fat that people add probably aren’t so beneficial. A medium triple-triple at Tim Hortons can add 24 grams of sugar and 18 grams of fat to a cup of coffee, according to the Tim Hortons Meal Builder.
INFOGRAPHIC BY VANESSA OGIBOWSKI
The study didn’t prove a cause-and-effect relationship between coffee and health benefits, but discovered a link between them. This link had been suggested in previous research.
“These data support the 2015 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Report that concluded that ‘moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy dietary pattern,’” said the study’s senior author, Frank Hu in a press release.
“I drink about three cups of coffee a day. It would be awesome if there were some perks to my addiction” said TJ Schultz, a 23-year-old business administration student at RRC.
“Look at all these people in line for coffee right now. They don’t even know that they’re doing something good for themselves,” said Schultz, gesturing to the long coffee line at The Roblin Centre.
