In an effort to reach our healthy goals and New Year’s resolutions, January tends to be a month of saying “no” for many of us. While giving up alcohol for Dry January or meat for “Veganuary” can be good for your health, if you’re planning to cut back on coffee, you may want to rethink it. The buzzy beverage offers health benefits, like better heart health, but it turns out, when you drink it makes a big difference.
A new decade-long study from Tulane University involving more than 40-thousand U.S. adults finds limiting your coffee to the morning is better for longevity. According to the research, which tracked them for a decade, people who stick to pre-lunch coffee get benefits that those who sip it later in the day don’t see.
- More than a third of participants were strictly morning coffee drinkers, while about 14% were all-day coffee drinkers.
- The study finds morning coffee drinkers are 16% less likely to die from any cause than those who don’t drink coffee at all.
- Those who limit their coffee fix to the a.m. are also 31% less likely to die of cardiovascular disease.
- Similar benefits were found in both caffeinated and decaf coffee, and in those who drink two to three cups, or more.
- But those who drink it throughout the day don’t have that same reduction in risk.
“This is the first study testing coffee drinking timing patterns and health outcomes,” explains lead study author Dr. Lu Qi. “We don’t typically give advice about timing in our dietary guidance, but perhaps we should be thinking about this in the future.”
Source: CNN