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Could drinking more coffee each day keep gout at bay?
[mis à jour le 18 June 2007 à 14h12]
Gentlemen, it could be to your advantage to start drinking more coffee! According to a joint American-Canadian study, drinking four or more cups of coffee a day could considerably reduce the risk of developing gout.
For 12 years, Professor Hyon Choi and his team (at British Columbia University in Vancouver) monitored around 52,000 men. Over the course of these years the participants recorded their daily consumption of coffee and tea. On their side, the researchers carried out biological tests on these volunteers to assess uricemia – ie the level of uric acid in the blood. Uric acid crystals are of course the cause of gout attacks.
According to the authors, there was a 40% decrease in the risk of gout among the heavy coffee drinkers (4 to 5 cups per day) compared with those who did not drink coffee. The decrease was even higher (61%) among those who drank more than 5 cups per day. On the other hand, those who drank a lot of tea did not show any decreased risk. “Constituents other than caffeine could explain this phenomenon. Notably chlorogenic acid, which is a powerful antioxidant”, points out Professor Choi. However, he believes it would be wrong to recommend drinking coffee in such large quantities. He stresses however that this won’t prevent him working on the effects of the different components of coffee. To be continued…
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