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Pastor Bob J. Lecocq said his parents, Bob G. and Rosetta Lecocq, thought that coffee had a divine quality to it.

They used to say that it's always a full cup of God's love, Lecocq said of his parents, who owned Lazarus Tomb Coffee House Ministries, now known as Sheep Inc. in Arnold.

Lecocq's parents may have been right about the special properties of coffee. Two recent studies published by the Annals of Internal Medicine found that there is a link between coffee and increased longevity.

One of the studies funded by the National Cancer Institute found that those who drank at least one cup of coffee a day had a 12 percent lower risk of death from heart disease, certain types of cancer, stroke, diabetes, respiratory disease and kidney disease. The study also found that those who drank three cups a day decreased those risks by 18 percent. These findings were consistent among white people, black people, Latinos and Japanese Americans.

Both studies found that the longevity correlations existed whether the coffee was regular or decaf.

However, the studies don't prove that coffee is the cause of the increased longevity, only that there is a correlation or association between coffee drinkers and longevity.

Residents and cafe owners in the Alle-Kiski Valley and Greensburg areas had plenty to say about their own coffee drinking habits on Tuesday.

Coffee drinking habits

Every morning at 5 a.m., I have a shot in the dark' to get me going, said Lisa Hegedus, owner of Caffe Barista in Greensburg.

A shot in the dark for Hegedus is a two-and-a-half-cup pot of coffee with two shots of espresso and a little bit of cream and sugar. For her, it is what she needs to start her day.

Darnicka Koskey, owner of Koskey's Korner Ice Cream Cafe in Tarentum, said she needs her morning cup strong and with some cream and no sugar.

If I don't get that morning cup, I feel all discombobulated, Koskey said.

Naturally, growing up in a family that owned a coffee house, Lecocq started early around 12 years old.

Lecocq, with the Monroeville Assembly of God, said his father sometimes used to eat coffee soup, a bowl of coffee with bread broken up into it for breakfast, though he didn't make it for customers.

Health benefits

Hegedus, who has been drinking coffee most of her adult life, said she never thought coffee was bad for her health.

Obviously it makes you feel like you have more energy, but I'm 52 years old and I don't feel or look it, Hegedus said.

Jess McGovern, an employee at Sun Dawg Cafe in Greensburg, said she drinks coffee and tea. But she said she understood that tea may be a little more effective for promoting heart health than coffee.

However, not everyone agreed that coffee was as healthy as the studies made it out to be.

David Durcy of Brackenridge said he knows coffee is addictive.

Any time I try to stop, it takes two or three weeks to get it completely out of my system, Durcy said.

Mike Rametta of Allegheny Township said studies often contradict other studies.

It seems like everything that's good for you is also bad for you, Rametta said.

Effects of the studies

Koskey said she might add a cup or two to her day if it could decrease her chance of serious health issues.

Cancer runs in my family. If I can do something to dodge that bullet, I'll do it, Koskey said.

Durcy said he doesn't plan to drink more coffee, but he will smile a lot more when he's drinking his morning pot.

McGovern said she thinks coffee drinkers would stick with the beverage whether or not they believe it is good for them.

Leif Greiss is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-226-4681, lgreiss@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Leif_Greiss.

Read more:
Longevity study a shot in the arm for Western Pa. coffee lovers - Tribune-Review

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