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Here's why you should invest in a nice coffee machine

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Taking coffee breaks are typically frowned upon by employers - at times to the extent where workers have been fired.

However, according to a new research presented at the ESC Congress this week, instead of banning staff from taking their 4pm coffee breaks, you should be encouraging it for health's sake - perhaps even consider investing in a nice coffee machine.

Apart from the walk to the pantry being a much needed break from the desks, the observational study carried out by Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death.

"Coffee is one of the most widely consumed beverages around the world," said Dr Adela Navarro, a cardiologist at Hospital de Navarra, Pamplona, Spain.

"In the SUN project we found an inverse association between drinking coffee and the risk of all-cause mortality, particularly in people aged 45 years and above. This may be due to a stronger protective association among older participants."

Conducted within the framework of the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra (SUN) Project, the study which started in 1999 observed nearly  20,000 participants, whose average age at enrollment was 37.7 years old. On entering the study, participants completed a previously validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire to collect information on coffee consumption, lifestyle and sociodemographic characteristics, anthropometric measurements, and previous health conditions.

The participants were then followed-up for an average of 10 years with information on mortality obtained from study participants and their families, postal authorities, and the National Death Index. During the period of the study, 337 participants died.

The researchers found that participants who consumed at least four cups of coffee per day had a 64% lower risk of all-cause mortality than those who never or almost never consumed coffee. There was a 22% lower risk of all-cause mortality for each two additional cups of coffee per day.

Researchers also observed a significant interaction between coffee consumption and age. In those who were at least 45 years old, drinking two additional cups of coffee per day was associated with a 30% lower risk of mortality during follow-up. While the association was not significant among younger participants.

Dr Navarro concluded: "Our findings suggest that drinking four cups of coffee each day can be part of a healthy diet in healthy people."

ALSO READ: 32% employees would rather streak naked than give up coffee

Apart from coffee, eating moderate amounts of chocolate has also been found to be beneficial for your staff’s health. So why not also stock up on some chocolate brands your staff are bound to love such as Cadbury, Ferrero Rocher, Nestlé, Hershey’s, and Lindt? Afterall, it is known that a happy worker is a productive worker.

Photo / 123RF

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