They say an apple a day keeps the doctor away. But it is not just an apple that makes people healthy. These days, drinking a cup of green tea and coffee also promotes good health and reduces the risk of death among heart attack and stroke survivors.
Science Focus reported that new research from Osaka University in Japan links green tea and coffee daily consumption to a lower risk of death, but researchers noted that its observations are far from conclusive.
Reduces Risks of Death From Heart Attack and Stroke
The Japanese researchers at Osaka University studied the heart health benefits of a cuppa and its reduced risk of death among 46,000 participants between ages 40 to 79 across the communities in Japan for 18 years.
The findings suggest that drinking seven or more cups could lower the risk of death among stroke survivors by around 62% compared to those who do not drink green tea. Similarly, the findings also suggest a positive association for male survivors of a heart attack.
They noted that such findings were not observed for participants who have no previous heart problems.
However, heart health expert and medical researcher Professor Naveed Sattar is wary of the results of the recent study. According to him, "62 percent is huge. A statin doesn't do that, blood pressure treatment doesn't do that. The size of effect along with the fact that they don't see it in people without seems to be residual confounding factors."
He added that good heart health still depends on the behavior and activity because there is no evidence that certain nutrients are more beneficial to those who had a stroke than those who did not. Perhaps those post-stroke participants are healthier to go and get themselves to drink seven cups of green tea.
Study lead author Professor Hiroyasu Iso said that lifestyle information on the participants is still needed to fully understand their findings, adding that the health benefits of coffee and green tea may have something to do with how they make it.
"An important distinction to make is that in Japanese culture, green tea is generally prepared with water and without sugar. Additionally, coffee is prepared with water and occasionally milk and sugar," said Iso.
The researchers added that avoiding too much milk and sugar in drinking green tea and coffee is the best way to drink both beverages to limit sugar-related health disorders.
The bottom line is that the findings present an interesting observation but is far from showing causation of reduced risk of death from death among heart attack and stroke survivors.
Reduces Risks of Death From Heart Attack and Stroke
Last year, a study from Japanese researchers published in BMJ Open Diabetes Research & Care claimed that drinking plenty of green tea and coffee reduces the risk of dying from any cause among people with type 2 diabetes. People with such disease are more prone to circulatory disorders, dementia, cancer, and bone fracture.
Science Daily reported that the findings suggest that four or more cups of green tea and two cups of coffee could lower the risk of death over a period of five years by 63%.
But like the recent study, the researchers of this study cautions that this is an observational study and cannot establish a cause. They explained that the biology behind the findings is not yet fully understand, but green tea is rich in antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds, while coffee contains bioactive compounds and phenols.
Check out more news and information on Green Tea and Coffee on Science Times.
