New study reveals coffee may lead to longer life span
Many of us enjoy at least one cup of coffee daily – particularly as a morning or afternoon pick-me-up. Though, are there actually more benefits to drinking coffee we don’t know about?
A new study recently published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, has discovered there might be a link between drinking coffee and a longer life span.
Sounds too good to be true? Here’s what you need to know.
The study
The study analysed data of almost 500,000 people across the United Kingdom who agreed to participate. They were asked how many cups of coffee they typically drink daily (including decaf) and also general questions regarding their health, education, smoking and drinking habits.
To determine whether or not drinking coffee did lead to a longer life span, there was a 10-year follow-up period.
The results
During the 10-year follow up period, 14,000 people in the study had died (with causes including cancer, respiratory diseases and cardiovascular disease).
As an observational study, it was discovered the more cups of coffee participants drank, the less likely they were to die during the study period.
With this being said, researchers behind the study are stressing the results have simply found a link between coffee and longevity, and there is no proof coffee does lead to a longer life.
“Although these findings may reassure coffee drinkers, these results are from an observational study and should be interpreted cautiously,” said lead study author Erikka Loftfield.
The study also found slight differences in results depending on the types of coffee people drank, with the results particularly being accurate for instant, ground and decaffeinated coffee.
According to Loftfield, as decaf coffee did support the findings of the study, this may suggest there could be other compounds in coffee (other than caffeine) responsible for longevity.
