The fine line between enjoying the right amount of coffee and drinking too much coffee continues to be a challenging concept to master for many coffee drinkers. To add to the dilemma, a new meta-analysis study dove into the research of nearly 85 studies to examine coffee’s relationship to portability rates and health indicators. This new study, headed by a team from the University of Coimbra in Portugal, suggests that drinking about three cups of coffee per day could extend lifespan by about 1.84 years per person.
The findings of this study showcase the potential for drinking coffee to protect against chronic diseases, such as Type 2 Diabetes, as well as age-associated diseases, such as stroke, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases. Researchers suggest that the benefits of coffee come from bioactive compounds within the drink known as polyphenols. Polyphenols may offer anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, fighting against the disease. However, the key to taking advantage of these benefits from coffee is “moderate consumption,” which generally means around three to five cups of coffee per day for most adults.
Researcher Rodrigo Cunha, an integral part of this study at the University of Coimbra, noted that “traditional clinical recommendations may have overlooked coffee’s role in healthy aging.” As such, this extensive review of the research focused on the role that regular or moderate coffee consumption can play in “mediating against the biological mechanisms which naturally slow or fail as we get older – triggering a range of potential health issues and comorbidities.” While there’s plenty more research to be done, this news opens up a world of possibilities in coffee and lifespan research.
