How would you like your coffee? Filtered. At least if you want to live longer, according to a team of Norwegian researchers.
As the New York Times reports, a new study in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology concludes that people who make coffee with a paper filter have a lower risk of dying from cardiovascular disease, ischemic heart disease or stroke. The lowest mortality rate was with people who drank one to four cups a day.
This was quite an impressive study, involving health data collected on 508,747 men and women 20-79 years old and conducted over almost 20 years (from 1985-2003). It compared those who drank java filtered through paper or unfiltered (which includes a French press, but also espresso), and took cigarette smoking and “other potential confounders (mediators)” into consideration, as well as blood lipids.
“The lower mortality associated with filtered coffee as compared with no coffee might arise from coffee being rich in antioxidants, including polyphenols,” the study concluded. As for the issues with unfiltered, that coffee contains higher concentrations of cholesterol-raising phytochemicals called diterpenes.
“Whatever kind of coffee you drink, enjoy your coffee,” as the study’s lead author, Aage Tverdal (a senior researcher with the Norwegian Department of Public Health), noted. “If it’s convenient, drink filtered coffee, especially if you have high cholesterol.”
And, as the coffee site Sprudge notes about the study, “The good news is that coffee, no matter what its preparation method, has been associated with some decreased risk of heart-related issues.”
Subscribe here for our free daily newsletter.
Whether you’re looking to get into shape, or just get out of a funk, The Charge has got you covered. Sign up for our new wellness newsletter today.
