Drinking Coffee Healthy!

A new report by the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that drinking up to six cups of coffee a day may lower the overall odds of dying prematurely. Coffee consumption seems to cut the risk of dying from heart disease, the study suggests. The reduced rate of heart disease was greater among women.

Specifically, women who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee per day had a 25 percent lower risk of death from heart disease and an 18 percent lower risk of death caused by something other than cancer or heart disease compared to non-coffee drinkers during the follow-up period.

Esther Lopez-Garcia, lead author of the report says, "Coffee has some beneficial effects on inflammation and endothelial function, which are the first stages of cardiovascular disease development." While it appears coffee does lower the risk of dying from heart disease, the authors caution that no connection was found between coffee consumption and cancer deaths.

To read the Harvard School of Public Health report on coffee, click here.

USA Today, Coffee may have perks..., by Angela Haupt, click here.

Washington Post Kathleen Deheny article Coffee Drinkers Might Live Longer, click here.

Fox News Female Coffee Drinkers Less Likely to Die From Heart Disease, click here.

ABC News, Filtering Through the Coffee Studies, by Joseph Brownstein, click here.