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| Photo: earth.com |
Coffee lovers and haters, this news is for both kinds of people. First, let’s cut the chase and spill the beans right away. There’s news of a study that has been performed in the US, and the results reveal that coffee might help to reduce the risk of Covid-19.
What does this study say?
In a new study led by Northwestern University, experts have investigated various foods that may protect against severe Covid-19 infection. The researchers found that drinking at least two to three cups of coffee per day lowers the risk of falling ill with Covid-19 by about one-tenth.
“Nutritional status influences immunity but its specific association with susceptibility to Covid-19 remains unclear. We examined the association of specific dietary data and incident Covid-19 in the UK Biobank (UKB),” wrote the study authors.
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| Photo: thehealthsite |
The team analyzed the records of 40,000 British adults in the UK Biobank. They looked at baseline diet factors including daily intake of coffee, tea, oily fish, processed meat, red meat, fruit, and vegetables, cited earth.com.
“Individual Covid-19 exposure was estimated using the UK’s average monthly positive case rate per specific geo-populations. Logistic regression estimated the odds of Covid-19 positivity by diet status adjusting for baseline sociodemographic factors, medical history, and other lifestyle factors,” explained the researchers.
The study produced evidence to suggest that the consumption of coffee provides protection against the virus, even among some individuals who were known to have been exposed. The researchers believe that coffee contains health-boosting plant chemicals that may turbocharge the immune system.
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| Coffee for the kill! Photo: Shutterstock |
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The study suggests that drinking one or more cups of coffee per day is associated with about a 10 per cent decrease in risk of Covid-19, compared to less than one cup daily. Coffee has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, and the new study suggested that coffee consumption has positive effects on inflammatory biomarkers such as CRP, interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumour necrosis factor I (TNF-I), which are also linked to Covid-19 severity and mortality. Further, drinking coffee has been associated with lower risk of pneumonia in elderly. “Taken together, an immunoprotective effect of coffee against Covid-19 is plausible and merits further investigation,” the authors noted, according to Thehealthsite. |
More vegetables, less processed meat
The results of the analysis also indicate that eating vegetables also lowers the risk of developing Covid-19, as well as being breastfed as a baby. By contrast, the regular consumption of processed meat like bacon and sausage appears to increase the risk of severe Covid-19 infection. In addition, the experts found that tea and fruit did not have a significant effect, reported earth.com
“Although these findings warrant independent confirmation, adherence to certain dietary behaviors may be an additional tool to existing Covid-19 protection guidelines to limit the spread of this virus,” concluded the researchers.
What are the top health benefits of drinking coffee?You could live longer.Recent studies found that coffee drinkers are less likely to die from some of the leading causes of death in women: coronary heart disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease. Your body may process glucose (or sugar) better.That’s the theory behind studies that found that people who drink more coffee are less likely to get type 2 diabetes. You’re less likely to develop heart failure.Drinking one to two cups of coffee a day may help ward off heart failure, when a weakened heart has difficulty pumping enough blood to the body.
You are less likely to develop Parkinson’s disease.Caffeine is not only linked to a lower chance of developing Parkinson’s disease, but it may also help those with the condition better control their movements. Your liver will thank you.Both regular and decaf coffee seem to have a protective effect on your liver. Research shows that coffee drinkers are more likely to have liver enzyme levels within a healthy range than people who don’t drink coffee. Your DNA will be stronger.Dark roast coffee decreases breakage in DNA strands, which occur naturally but can lead to cancer or tumors if not repaired by your cells. Your odds of getting colon cancer will go way down.One in 23 women develop colon cancer. But researchers found that coffee drinkers — decaf or regular — were 26 percent less likely to develop colorectal cancer, cited hopkinsmedicine. You may decrease your risk of getting Alzheimer’s disease.Almost two-thirds of Americans living with Alzheimer’s disease are women. But the caffeine in two cups of coffee may provide significant protection against developing the condition. In fact, researchers found that women age 65 and older who drank two to three cups of coffee a day were less likely to develop dementia in general. You’re not as likely to suffer a stroke.For women, drinking at least one cup of coffee a day is associated with lowered stroke risk, which is the fourth leading cause of female deaths. |
