NPR reports that a new study links coffee drinking to a longer life. Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health crunched the numbers from studies of nurses and other healthcare workers, which counted 167,000 women and 40,000 men. Their study, which was published in the journal Circulation, sought to see if coffee consumption had any link to longevity, and the results were great for anyone with a caffeine dependency.
People who drank three to five cups of joe a day had a 15 percent lower risk of premature death compared to non-drinkers. Coffee lovers had a lower risk of death from heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, and even suicide. People who drank more than five cups a day didn't have any association with mortality, and smoking negated any health benefits from drinking coffee.
The link wasn't limited to caffeine. People who drank decaf coffee also saw the same benefits, which means that caffeine isn't what boosts health. The researchers say they haven't found any definitive cause yet, but there are compounds in coffee beans that help reduce inflammation and insulin resistance.
The study is limited because it focused on health professionals, who were mostly white, middle-class, and well-educated. It also didn't specify whether people drank their coffee black or loaded with cream and sugar. The researchers aren't prescribing coffee to prevent heart disease, but their findings echo a government advisory committee, which said earlier this year that drinking three to five cups of black coffee a day would help your health.
This article was originally published on Esquire.com
