Coffee could make you live a few years more

A new study shows that this drink could make you live longer, even those who drink up to eight cups of this drink a day.

According to the study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, coffee drinkers are 10 to 15 percent less likely to die than those who do not drink. The differences by quantity of coffee consumed and genetic variations were minimal.

The research, which covered almost 500,000 Britons, also shows that coffee drinkers reduced their risk of death by 10 years than those who do not.

That increase in longevity was seen with instant coffee, ground or decaffeinated, a result similar to that obtained by an American investigation, although this is the first large study to indicate a benefit even in people with genetic failures that affect the way in which their bodies use caffeine.

The results do not show that your coffee maker is a source of eternal youth, nor is it a reason for everyone to start drinking coffee, said Alice Lichtenstein, a nutrition expert at Tufts University who was not part of the research. But he added that the results reinforce previous studies and offer additional confidence to coffee drinkers.

"It's not hard to believe that something we enjoy so much, can be good for us. Or at least not bad, "said Lichtenstein.

Lead author Erikka Loftfield, a researcher at the National Cancer Institute of the United States, said that coffee contains more than a thousand chemical compounds, including antioxidants that help protect cells.

However, it is not yet completely clear how drinking coffee impacts longevity. Other studies indicate that substances in coffee could reduce inflammation and improve how the body uses insulin, which can reduce the chance of developing diabetes. The task of explaining a possible longevity benefit continues, Loftfield said.

For the study, the researchers invited 9.2 million Britons to participate, but only 498,134 women and men between 40 and 69 did so.

Participants filled out questionnaires about their daily coffee consumption, exercise and other habits, and underwent physical exams, including blood tests. Most drank coffee: 154 thousand took two or three cups a day and 10 thousand drank at least eight cups a day.

Over the next decade, 14,225 participants died, mostly from cancer or heart disease.

As in previous studies, those who drink coffee are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, but the researchers took those factors into consideration and it seems that drinking coffee counteracted them.

Source: El Financiero