I have been thrown a lot of shade for the amount of coffee I consume. It is not uncommon for me to drink 3+ cups of coffee a day, and apparently that is “excessive” (according to the haters, at least). Finally, I have been vindicated, however, as two new studies published in the Annals of Internal Medicine suggest that coffee may actually help you live longer.
Here is everything that you need to know about this new discovery, which will either increase your coffee consumption even more or at least cut down on your negativity about the greatest beverage in the world.
Dropping Some Serious Science
The first study conducted was in Europe with over 521,000 participants, and it examined the connection between coffee consumption and mortality. In all countries surveyed, increased coffee consumption was inversely correlated with mortality rates, meaning that the sample group who drank coffee had a lower death rate.
Specifically, caffeine consumption is expected to decrease the likelihood of liver disease, digestive diseases, circulatory diseases, female cancer, and male suicide.
Because the first (and possibly only) thing I learned in science class was that all experiments must be reproducible, here’s another study for ya.
This study was conducted in Hawaii and Los Angeles, with individuals of African American, Native Hawaiian, Japanese American, Latino, and Caucasian descent. It showed that coffee consumption lead to a longer life span across all tested groups, except Native Hawaiians. Even more so, it showed that drinking 2-4 cups of coffee a day is supposed to decrease death risk by 18 percent, which is literally insane.
The study also predicted that coffee consumption decreased the likelihood of heart disease, strokes, diabetes, respiratory disease, and kidney disease.
Some are still skeptic of the findings, however. According to BBC, it remains to be seen whether coffee is directly correlated with an increased life expectancy, or if healthier people in general just drink more coffee.
So What Does This Mean?
One thing these studies have shown to be certain, according to Veronica Wendy Setiawan of USC’s Keck School of Medicine, is that “there’s no long term harm from drinking coffee.” So if drinking my three cappuccinos a day won’t hurt, and if it can also decrease my risk of death by 18 percent — I’ll take it. Honestly, I’m convinced coffee is God’s gift to the world.
To all the coffee haters, please take a seat and let me drink my Starbucks in peace. I might even live longer because of it.