by: Dennis Thompson

WEDNESDAY, June 4, 2025 (HealthDay News)
A morning cup of coffee might do more than momentarily boost your energy and spirits.

Full-test java also appears to help women age more gracefully, a new study says.

Middle-aged women who regularly drank caffeinated coffee were more likely to stay mentally sharp and physically functional as they aged, researchers reported Monday at a meeting of the American Society for Nutrition.

Each extra cup was tied to a 2% to 5% increased chance of aging gracefully, results show.

“The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee — not tea or decaf — may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function,” researcher Sara Mahdavi, a post-doctoral fellow at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in a news release.

For the study, researchers tracked more than 47,500 women participating in the Nurses’ Health Study, a long-term research project that has collected data since 1984.

The team compared the women’s caffeine intake to their healthy aging, which was defined as living to 70, being free from 11 major chronic illnesses, maintaining physical function, having good mental health and exhibiting no memory or thinking difficulties.
By 2016, more than 3,700 of the women met all the requirements for being considered a person who has aged gracefully, researchers said.

In middle age, these women typically consumed about 315 milligrams of caffeine daily, roughly three small cups or one and a half large cups of coffee, researchers said.

More than 80% of that caffeine came from coffee.

Each 80 milligrams of caffeine consumed daily increased a woman’s odds for healthy aging.
Caffeine intake also increased their odds of avoiding chronic illness, remaining physically strong and keeping their wits and memory, results show.

But not all sources of caffeine were the same.
Coffee alone was associated with healthy aging, with benefits accruing up to five small cups or two and a half large cups per day.

On the other hand, caffeinated colas tended to be linked to worse aging, researchers found.

Each additional small glass of soda was associated with a 20% to 26% lower likelihood of healthy aging, results show.

Decaf coffee and tea were not significantly associated one way or the other with aging, researchers noted.

“These results, while preliminary, suggest that small, consistent habits can shape long-term health,” Mahdavi said.

“Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, a healthy diet and avoiding smoking.”

However, researchers warned that coffee should not be considered a fountain of youth.

“While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy aging, the benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation,” Mahdavi added.

Researchers next plan to study how the compounds contained in coffee might act to influence a person’s aging.

Mahdavi presented the findings Monday at the American Nutrition Society’s annual meeting in Orlando, Fl.

Findings presented at medical meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

Johns Hopkins Medicine has more on the health benefits of coffee.
SOURCE: American Society for Nutrition, news release, June 2, 2025
HealthDay

by: Dennis Thompson
WEDNESDAY, April 23, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Overuse of antibiotics might increase kids’ risk of developing asthma and allergies, by disrupting their gut bacteria during a crucial stage of child development, a new study says.

Exposure to antibiotics prior to age 2 is associated with a 24% increased risk of asthma and 33% increased risk of food allergies in later childhood, researchers reported recently in the Journal of Infectious Diseases.

“Antibiotics play a critical role in combatting bacterial infections, but physicians should be judicious when prescribing antibiotics to children under 2, as frequent use may affect long-term health outcomes,” lead researcher Dr. Daniel Horton of the Rutgers Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research said in a news release.

For the study, researchers tracked the health of more than 1 million children in the U.K., comparing early antibiotic treatment to their later risk of allergies and asthma.

Previous research has suggested that early and repeated antibiotic use can disrupt the development of health gut bacteria as a child ages, researchers said in background notes. This, in turn, can influence their risk of allergic conditions.

Tracking the children through age 12, researchers found they were at higher risk of asthma and food allergies if they’d been exposed to antibiotics as babies.

Babies given antibiotics also had a 6% increased risk of seasonal allergies, researchers said.

“Antibiotics are important and sometimes life-saving medicines, but not all infections in young kids need to be treated with antibiotics,” Horton said. “Parents should continue to consult with their children’s doctors on the best course of care.”

However, researchers found no consistent impact from antibiotic use on the risk of autoimmune diseases like celiac disease or inflammatory bowel disease, or on developmental conditions like ADHD or autism.

More information
Nemours Children’s Health has more on antibiotic overuse and children.

SOURCE: Rutgers University, news release, April 16, 2025

Health Day

By Dennis Thompson WEDNESDAY, April 16, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Long brisk walks might lower a person’s risk for heart rhythm problems, a new study says. Folks who stride faster than 4 miles per hour have a 43% lower risk of developing an abnormal heart rhythm, compared with those who amble at a pace of less than 3 miles an hour, researchers reported April 15 in the journal Heart. The time spent walking also influenced risk, with people who spent more time at an average or brisk pace enjoying a 27% lower risk of heart rhythm problems, researchers said. “These new findings reinforce the promotion of faster walking pace in physical activity recommendations,” concluded the research team led by Jill Pell, chair of public health with the University of Glasgow in the U.K. “Walking at a brisk pace may have a role in … prevention of cardiac arrhythmias.” For the study, researchers used data gathered as part of the UK Biobank health study on nearly 421,000 people, including nearly 82,000 who wore an accelerometer to track their walking pace. Overall, about 41% of people had a brisk walking pace, 53% an average walking pace and slightly more than 6% a slow pace. Results show that a brisk or average pace reduced the risk of any heart rhythm problem by 43% and 35%, respectively. People with a brisk or average pace also had a 46% and 38% lower risk of atrial fibrillation, a heart rhythm condition that greatly increases the risk of stroke, results show. Researchers estimate that about 36% of the link between walking pace and heart rhythm problems is influenced by inflammation and metabolism. That jibes with previous research, which found that brisk walking can lower obesity, help improve blood sugar control, prevent diabetes and reduce high blood pressure, researchers said. “This study is the first to explore the pathways underpinning the association between walking pace and arrhythmias, and to provide evidence that metabolic and inflammatory factors may have a role,” researchers concluded. “Walking faster decreased the risk of obesity and inflammation, which, in turn, reduced the risk of arrhythmia.” More information Harvard Medical School has more on walking for exercise. SOURCE: BMJ, news release, April 15, 2025 Health Day