Two cups of coffee a day could ‘make you live two years longer’

Two cups of coffee a day might be the key to living longer, according to a new study.

According to research published in the European Journal of Epidemiology, it was found that drinking as little as two cups of coffee a day can increase your life expectancy by up to two years.

In the study, 40 cases were looked at including over 3 million subjects and 450,256 causes of death.

The researchers found that drinking coffee had an inverse association with all-cause mortality – ‘irrespective of age, overweight status, alcohol drinking, smoking status and caffeine content of coffee.’

Moderate coffee consumption, such as two to four cups a day, ‘was associated with reduced all-cause and cause-specific mortality, compared to no coffee consumption’, according to researchers.

But life expectancy wasn’t the only thing that coffee reduced the risk, as it seems that a reduction in the risk of developing and dying from cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes or respiratory disease was found.

The study was conducted to examine the association between coffee and mortality ‘in various sub-populations by characteristics of subjects’ such as ageing, obesity and other lifestyle factors that impact mortality.

In the study, it shows that the link between coffee and mortality was stronger than the inverse association in the United States.

The links to coffee and health related issues is not a new one.

In the past it has been attributed to slow growth of prostate cancer, stunting growth, overall improved heart health and a reduced risk of developing Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Of the findings, Astrid Nehlig, a research director at France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research, told The Sunday Times: ‘It is difficult to calculate, but my feeling is that drinking coffee possibly adds another couple of years to your life’ – and that the increased focus and alertness may be partly the reason.