Coffee and Green Tea and Cardiovascular Risk Reduction
ACCORDING TO A NEW STUDY, green tea and coffee consumption appear to be associated with a lower probability of developing cardiovascular disease. Today, I want to examine a recent report pointing to the cardio- and neuroprotective effects of green tea and coffee.
Historical research has looked at the benefits of green tea and coffee on heart health among individuals without a history of cancer or cardiovascular disease. For their new study, researchers from Osaka University (Japan) asked an additional question: Can green tea or coffee consumption help those who have survived a stroke or heart attack?
Researchers prospectively examined over 46,000 subjects, including nearly 500 survivors of stroke, 1,214 survivors of a heart attack, and more than 44,000 persons without a history of either condition. The participants ranged in age from 40 to 79 years old.
Each subject completed a lifestyle, diet, and medical history questionnaire. Included were questions about green tea and coffee consumption. Here are the results, after a median follow-up of just under 19 years:
- Green tea consumption was inversely associated with all-cause mortality among survivors of stroke. Those who consumed one to six cups daily had a drop by approximately one-quarter in risk than non-consumers. For those who drank three to six cups daily, the risk dropped by about half. There appeared to be a similar association for survivors of a heart attack.
- Coffee consumption was also inversely associated with all-cause mortality among survivors of a heart attack. One cup daily appeared associated with a 12 percent lower risk; two cups 39 percent. There did not appear to be such a trend for those who had suffered from a stroke.
- Coffee consumption was also inversely associated with all-cause mortality among those without a stroke or heart attack history. For one cup daily, the risk dropped by a relative 14 percent; those who had two cups daily coffee consumption saw a relative drop of 18 percent.
The study authors concluded that “green tea consumption may be beneficial for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease, whereas coffee consumption can also be associated with primary prevention. However, confirmation of these findings is needed.”
Perspective: Association is not causality
Many diet and cancer studies shout about the benefit of this food and the perils of that.
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