Drinking Coffee Regularly Could Lead To A Longer Life?

According to two new studies, drinking coffee regularly, even in not so small quantities, may be the secret to a longer life. Namely, the research teams claim to have found direct proof of the link between this habit and particular illnesses and diseases.

One of the studies is not the first research to test the effects of coffee on the human organism, but it is the largest of its type. The researchers followed around half a million people residing in 10 European countries for more than 16 years. They looked to monitor and study the effects of their coffee drinking habits across their lifespan.

The second study included over 185,000 participants of diverse ethnicities living in the United States. All of them were in between 45 to 75 years old. They were also followed over a period of 16 years, with their health being monitored in relation to their coffee consumption.

Drinking Coffee Regularly Proved Beneficial and Not Harmful

According to the two studies, the effects of drinking coffee regularly apply no matter the type consumed, including even decaffeinated coffee. These also found that the beneficial effects seemingly increase with each cup consumed.

The European-based analysis found that men that drank three or more cups of coffee each day presented an 18 percent lower risk of death. In women, these chances were reduced by 8 percent for the same quantity. Both values were obtained when comparing their risks to those of coffee non-drinkers.

The study also took a closer look at a subset of 14,800 participants. In it, the coffee drinkers returned better biological markers when compared to those that did not consume this beverage. Such markers and their values can indicate possibly underlying diseases.

The U.S.-based study found that drinking one cup of coffee daily seemingly lowered the risks of death by 12 percent, no matter the ethnicity. Increasing the consumed quantity of coffee also led to a decrease of the risks by 18 percent.

“We found that coffee drinkers had a reduced risk of death from heart disease, from cancer, from stroke, respiratory disease, diabetes and kidney disease,” stated Veronica Setiawan.

She is a research co-author and associate professor of preventive medicine with the University of Southern California.

The results reportedly apply to both smokers and non-smokers. Still, the researchers also underline that the participants self-reported their habits. These were also observational studies and did not show a cause and effect relationship. The self-reporting could have led to the neglect of other beneficial health behaviors.

Still, the studies did help prove that drinking coffee should bring no harms. Moderation is still recommended, as more research is still needed.

Study results are and will become available in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine.

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