Drinking Coffee Daily Could Add Almost 2 Years to Your Life: Study

If you regularly drink a few cups of coffee every day, you may be in luck.

Besides the pleasure and caffeine boost you get from downing a mug of joe, your daily cuppa may be contributing to a longer life. A new review study out of Portugal has found that regular coffee consumption could add an extra 1.8 years to life expectancy, the coffee-news website Sprudge reported on Tuesday. Researchers at the nations’s Center for Neuroscience and Cell Biology looked at more than 50 coffee studies to arrive at that number, which was recently published in Ageing Research Reviews.

“Traditional clinical recommendations have at times overlooked coffee’s role in healthy aging,” Rodrigo Cunha, the lead author on the study, told Newsweek. “But with a strong research base around how regular consumption can potentially reduce some of the most chronic diseases facing society, it is likely time to reevaluate these.”

The study, which included individuals from Europe, North America, and Asia, says that “maximal benefits” are achieved with three cups of coffee a day, Sprudge noted. And while many would appreciate a couple extra years of life, those years are likely to be healthier, too. As Newsweek reported, the review found that studies relate regular moderate coffee drinking with a decreased risk of many age-related diseases, including heart and lung disease, stroke, some cancers, and dementia, among others.

Many Americans are probably happy to hear this news, especially given that coffee consumption in the United States recently hit a 20-year high. For all of those who indulge in multiple daily cups, they could be increasing their lifespan by 2.3 percent, according to Sprudge—another two years in which to enjoy even more of the good stuff.

The study out of Portugal is just the latest to combine science with coffee, although other recent studies have focused more on the science of making coffee rather than on how the liquid affects our lives. Earlier this year, for example, researchers discovered a way to make cold brew in just three minutes. And last year they shared a trick for a smarter way to create a cup of joe.

With our coffee-consumption habits being validated by science, we can peacefully put some of those research-backed tips into practice—now and for a couple more years to come.

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