People who drink coffee live longer

Question

Reading this claim for the first time had me in a laugh as i assumed this can't be true. As most individuals talk about how bad coffee can be for you or if you do drink coffee you should only have one cup a day if that. especially if you maybe go to a specific coffee shop and order a special drink with extra add in's but that's what caught my attention with this claim is that maybe coffee is good for you maybe it's just the extra little stuff we add into our coffee such as creamer, syrups, whip cream etc. that make it out to be such an unhealthy thing.

I found interest in this claim and found an article provided below produced by Healthline in 2019 a health company that shares interesting facts and information such as this claim above. The author as well Kris Gunnars has multiple different articles based from Healthline talking about the good and bad about coffee but this article specifically talks about multiple different topics are discussed about the specific chemicals in coffee grounds and how they produce nutrients for our body etc. as well as 7 other reasons why coffee can be good for you but also stating the fact of having a medical condition and suggesting how having coffee with those health benefits may not be the best idea.

Answer 1

I found this claim to be slightly exaggerated and misleading. From the original article, they stated 7 potential positive benefits of coffee. These potential benefits weren't supported by scientific fact and were nit-picking from the larger topic at hand. Further, the effects of coffee don't go for just caffeine as a whole and I think it is important to highlight that, they also stop being positive after a certain intake. The article from Healthline states:

 "Also, keep in mind that some of the evidence is not strong. Many of the above studies were observational in nature. Such studies can only show association, but cannot prove that coffee caused the benefits." 

To support/give meaning to this article, I found 2 others based in scientific research. 

An article from NPR cites sources from Harvard health, and references studies that showed an increase in longevity of life in coffee drinkers. although more specifically, this applied mostly to 1-3 cups per day, and really didn't have much to do with the caffeine itself but rather the coffee bean. The article states" It's not likely to be the caffeine. While studies don't prove that coffee extends life, several studies have suggested a longevity boost among drinkers of decaf as well as regular coffee," (NPR). The article is from 2018-fairly recent and has a credible author with many cited sources to specific studies linked throughout the article. Although, this study is also observational, and it seems more research is still needed. 

An article from Mayo Clinic discusses the negative effects of caffeine and further reinforces the point from NPR and Harvard Medical, that 4 cups of coffee seems to be a healthy limit and can have potential benefits. 

The further clarification from this claim needed is scientific data, ideally more than just observational studies will be conducted in the future, and the specific nature of the claim. That over 4 cups of coffee is too much and doesn't increase your health but rather the opposite, and also that it isn't the caffeine with the positive effects. 

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/02/625128383/coffee-drinkers-are-more-likely-to-live-longer-decaf-may-do-the-trick-too

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

Comments

Your fact check was explained well and very detailed. You thoroughly explained the exaggerated and misleading claims in the article, even providing direct quotes. And the two other scientific research articles you used are credible sources. Thank you for providing a good fact check based on research and facts, rather than opinion.

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Your fact check went into great detail, and your sources seem reliable, but I would always suggest using information from government websites in addition to what is originally found in order ensure reliability. Thank you for clearing up the fact that caffeine is not what makes you live longer, and that more evidence is needed from the original article.

Answer 2

I am a coffee lover so when I saw this claim, I was enticed to know if it's true! According to Health Matters, a doctor newsletter, "What we do know is that coffee drinkers have less of a risk of dying. People who drink coffee have a lower risk of death than people who do not drink coffee." After reading this quote, I was shocked, but still a little confused. I read the claim, but now need to know why there is a less risk of death. As I read, I noticed "In terms of what could be healthy about coffee, it does have antioxidants. Those are substances that could be involved in potentially reducing and repairing cell damage, which could lead to disease." This makes a lot of sense to me and explains the health benefits of coffee. But keep in mind, "We have to take these results with a grain of salt in the sense that it is a prospective study." Happy to say this claim is true!

https://healthmatters.nyp.org/can-coffee-help-you-live-longer/

Comments

It's fascinating to hear that coffee might contribute to a lower risk of death! The role of antioxidants in coffee, which can help reduce cell damage and potentially prevent diseases, really underscores the beverage's health benefits. However, it’s wise to approach these findings with caution since they come from a prospective study, which may have limitations in how they interpret long-term health effects. While it's exciting to think that coffee can play a part in longevity, it's also essential to consider other lifestyle factors that might contribute to overall health. What other aspects of a healthy lifestyle do you think are important alongside coffee consumption? And do you have a favorite way to enjoy your coffee?

Answer 3

When researching this claim I stayed away from Coffee selling websites and went to more well known Medical sources. From the three sources I pulled, it seems that there is a general consensus that drinking black coffee can be beneficial to your health. Dressing up coffee by adding sweeteners or artificial flavors and cream can decrease its nutritional value by outweighing the bad from the good. So while this headline is broad, there is some truth but can be misleading.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/expert-answers/coffee-and-health/faq-20058339

https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/hsph-in-the-news/is-coffee-good-or-bad-for-your-health/

https://www.heart.org/en/news/2018/09/28/is-coffee-good-for-you-or-not

Answer 4

I thought this claim was true/false. From the article above it lists seven things why coffee is good for you, but also there are negative things that can involve drinking coffee as well. In the article it states, "In a large prospective, observational study, drinking coffee was associated with a lower risk of death by all causes." This statement doesn't have any scientific information and it just describes an observation from a study, and they don't tell you where that study came from. Looking farther into the claim it also said "This effect is particularly profound in people with type 2 diabetes. One study showed that coffee drinkers had a 30% lower risk of death during a 20-year period." This statement seemed a little bit confusing to me so I checked to see if there was anything similar to this statement. 

From the article, Coffee Consumption and All-Cause, Cardiovascular, and Cancer Mortality in an Adult Mediterranean Population, by National Library of Medicine, in the article it had a similar statement as the article above, health line. It explains what the topic they're addressing as well as statistics of coffee drinking and what it can do and what it can benefit for you. In the article it stated " The mechanisms by which coffee may reduce the risk of death are not well known, although it could be due to the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of some of their components. Coffee is rich in polyphenols, a group of compounds with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity which can be divided according to their chemical structure into flavonoids and non-flavonoids." This article is from April 9 2021, fairly new, and has a credible author as well as sources and copyright links. This article was mostly observational studies but it did show a lot of scientific evidence. 

An article called Acute Effects of Coffee Consumption on Health among Ambulatory Adults by The New England Journal of Medicine. It discusses the negative affects it can have on men and women. It talks about how coffee can affect your sleep, your diet, physical activity ext.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8070495/#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20this%20study%20suggests,coffee%20consumption%20and%20CVD%20mortality.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8070495/#:~:text=In%20conclusion%2C%20this%20study%20suggests,coffee%20consumption%20and%20CVD%20mortality.

  

 

Answer 5

The claim is that people who drink coffee live longer. However, the article focuses on benefits drinking coffee can have. These benefits include being smarter, improvements on physical performance, lowering the risk of Type 2 diabetes, lowering the risk of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, being good for your liver, decrease risk of premature death, and being full of nutrients and antioxidants. While these effects all decrease the risk of premature death, the claim that those who drink coffee live longer is exaggerated and misleading. Not everyone who drinks coffee outlives all those who don't drink coffee which is what the claim implies. The article itself is pretty reliable with sources to case studies being linked to every claim and the author being known for nutrition. By linking evidence to each claim, this article establishes credibility and makes it easy for readers to seek more information about each benefit. The author also takes the time at the end of the article to acknowledge flaws one might find in the evidence. He states that some of the evidence only shows association but doesn't prove that coffee caused the benefits listed. By acknowledging this, the author makes sure that the reader has all the information they need to be correctly informed. Overall, I think that this was a very good article but the claim itself seems very exaggerated and misleading before reading the article.