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Increased coffee consumption reduces MS risk by 30 percent
It used to be said that too much coffee is harmful. There have been repeated reports in recent years that coffee can have a positive effect on our health. A recent study concludes that drinking six cups of coffee per day lowers the risk of developing multiple sclerosis.
Drinking coffee can help protect our health. When people drink six cups of coffee a day, the likelihood of multiple sclerosis drops, the researchers from the Karolinska Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California report on the results of their study. The scientists published the study in the journal "Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry".
Image: BillionPhotos.com/Fotolia.com) Scientists evaluated the data from two large studies
Researchers from the Karolinska Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the University of California studied two older studies, and found that consuming more than 900 ml of coffee per day reduced our risk of multiple sclerosis by up to 30 percent. The first study examined 1,620 subjects with MS and a comparison group of 2,788 people without the disease. The second study examined just 1,160 people with MS and about 1,170 healthy people. In both studies, people were asked about their coffee consumption and should indicate how long they have been drinking coffee, say the doctors.
Swedish study shows that coffee consumption is associated with lower MS risk
Coffee drinkers were screened for symptoms of MS to assess the future risk of the disease. Thereafter, the values were compared with the healthy group, explain the physicians. The results show that the risk of MS in humans is consistently higher when subjects drink fewer cups of coffee daily, even when considering other factors. In the Swedish study, drinking coffee was clearly linked to a lower risk of MS. Among those people who drunk more than six small cups of coffee daily (more than 900 ml), there was an up to 30 percent lower risk of developing MS, compared to non-coffee drinkers, say the experts.
MS risk decreases by up to 31 percent due to high coffee consumption
Similar results were also found in the second study. The risk for MS was 26% to 31% lower when the subjects consumed at least 948 ml of coffee daily. The authors explain that no clear conclusions about cause and effect could be made because it was an observational study.
However, a lower MS rate linked to the increased consumption of coffee was clearly observed. It did not matter if coffee consumption was considered at the onset of the disease, five or ten years before the onset of the disease, the researchers say. The fact that high coffee consumption reduces our risk for the development of MS was also found in animal experiments, the experts add.
Further studies are needed to better understand the cause and effect of coffee
Caffeine has neuroprotective properties and can suppress inflammatory reactions in the body and stimulate the central nervous system, experts say. It remains to be seen, however, whether coffee drinking should be recommended to prevent the development of MS. However, the results of the analysis would show some evidence that coffee has beneficial effects on our health, the researchers explain. Coffee could play an important role in the prevention of MS, and further research needs to clarify the mechanisms underlying this fact. There are more than 100,000 people in the UK alone who suffer from MS and so far doctors would not yet understand what causes the disease, explain the doctors.