编译：黄伟 图源：LONGEVITY

    据medguru.com 2010年9月1日报道，雅典大学科研人员表示，喝咖啡可能是长寿的秘诀之一。

    希腊的伊卡里亚岛素以长寿闻名，岛上1/3的居民能活到90岁，其癌症发病率比西方其他国家低20%，心脏病发病率低50%，而且几乎没有人患痴呆症。研究人员认为，这和希腊人喝传统的浓咖啡有关系。

    众所周知，高血压会减少动脉弹性，导致动脉硬化，诱发心脏病和中风。研究人员以岛上485名年龄介于65岁至100岁的高血压患者为研究对象，发现56%的人动脉非常健康，可与年轻人相比。原来他们每天都喝1—2杯希腊浓咖啡；另有10%的人每天喝3杯以上，但其动脉弹性反而最差。

    雅典大学主导该研究的克里斯蒂娜博士表示，每天适量饮用咖啡有助于提高主动脉扩张功能。希腊咖啡是以传统方法煮泡，不经过滤，因而含有更多的预防心脏病的化合物。咖啡里的咖啡因和抗氧化成分能显著提升动脉功能，但是多喝无益。此外，喝咖啡还有另一项鲜为人知的好处，就是社交。在咖啡馆里与朋友一边聊天，一边喝咖啡，对于精神健康大有裨益。

    这项研究发表在斯德哥尔摩举行的“欧洲心血管学会”大会上。(编译：黄伟 )

     以下是英文报道：（来源: the medguru.com)

Coffee key to long life--study

Contrary to the conventional belief, sipping a cup of hot coffee could work wonders for your heart by regulating heart rhythms, thereby reducing the number of visits to doctor, reveals a new study.

Drinking one to two cups of coffee per day is good for the heart, researchers have found.

In fact, even those with high blood pressure

can stay healthier by drinking a cup of coffee daily, the study proposed.

Previously it was believed that drinking coffee caused disturbances in heartbeat rate, leading to heart diseases, although some experts still believe that regular coffee drinkers are at a higher risk for heart attacks.

Details of the study:

In a bid to assess the potential benefits and risks associated with coffee intake, researchers at the University of Athens conducted a study on 485 elderly people with high blood pressure (BP) orhypertension.

The volunteers, all aged between 65 and 100, were long-term residents of Greek island of 'Ikaria', which is known as the "land of longevity" and a third of residents reach the age of 90 years.

Most of them drank traditional strong Greek coffee in small cups of between 25ml and 50ml each.

Interestingly, people in Ikaria are 20 percent less likely to have cancer, have half the rate of heart disease risk, and virtually no dementia as compared with the people from Western countries.

Study results:

It was found that drinking a cup of coffee everyday improves elasticity of the arteries, which can ward off heart disease, the Daily Mail reported.

"People who reported four or more cups a day had almost an 18% reduction in the risk of being hospitalized for rhythm disturbances," says Arthur Klatsky, a senior cardiology consultant at Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in California.

Fifty six percent of people who drank between one and two cups of coffee a day had best arterial health, with their blood vessels behaving like those found in younger people.

The study also took into account other factors that would influence blood vessel health, including age, gender, physical activity, body weight, and diabetes.

Dr Christina Chrysohoou, who presented the findings at Stockholm, said, “The study revealed that moderate coffee consumption, between one and two cups per day, is associated with higher values of aortic distensibility when compared with other hypertensive elderly individuals taking less coffee.”

Greek coffee is traditionally boiled and not filtered so is higher in compounds that prevent heart disease, Dr Chrysohoou averred.

Coffee improves heart health:

The findings also suggested that there might be a link between moderate coffee consumption and reduced risks of heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, and poor kidney function.

It is believed that chemicals in the coffee improve heart health by preventing damage caused by oxygen molecules and blocking harmful nitric oxide. These nutrients include flavonoids, magnesium, potassium, niacin, and vitamin E, which combat the harmful effect of oxygen on cells.

The study findings have been released at 'European Society of Cardiology Congress' in Stockholm.