Regular coffee can be key to a longer, healthier life, claims study

Coffee benefits: Although coffee is linked to caffeine, it also includes more than 2,000 potentially bioactive substances, such as those that lower neuroinflammation, control insulin sensitivity, and provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects (Image: Canva)

Experts often emphasise the need to eat superfoods like berries and legumes for longevity. Coffee is usually seen as a culprit and most dieticians also recommend a reduction in your daily intake of the brew. But a new review has brought good news for coffee lovers as drinking the brew every day might be linked with living a longer and healthier life.

A new study published in the scientific journal Ageing Research Reviews suggests that your morning coffee provides more than just a caffeine boost. Regular drinking of coffee has been linked to an additional 1.8 years of life expectancy, as per the study that was published last month.

The study didn't just look at how long people lived, but also how healthily, finding that coffee was linked with a longer health span too. "We know that the world's population is ageing faster than ever, which is why it's increasingly important to explore dietary interventions that may allow people to not only live longer but also healthier lives," said lead author Rodrigo Cunha, from the University of Coimbra, Portugal, in a statement.

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The study titled Impact of coffee intake on human ageing: Epidemiology and cellular mechanisms, explores “evidence from studies in humans and human tissues supporting an ability of coffee and of its main components (caffeine and chlorogenic acids) to preserve the main biological mechanisms responsible for the ageing process”. The study also highlights the facts that “regular consumption of moderate doses of coffee attenuates all-cause mortality, age-associated diseases (cardiovascular, stroke, cancer); coffee and its main components (caffeine, chlorogenic acids) control stress adaptation and also preserve the main biological mechanisms of ageing”.

The study notes that although coffee is linked to caffeine, it also includes more than 2,000 potentially bioactive substances, such as those that lower neuroinflammation, control insulin sensitivity, and provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

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"Our review underlines the role regular, 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," Cunha states.

According to the study, clinical guidelines that often advise against consuming coffee above the age of sixty due to its high caffeine level ought to be revised to take into account its advantages.

Cunha highlighted that coffee’s function in healthy ageing has occasionally been disregarded by traditional therapeutic advice, but with a solid body of research showing that regular drinking may reduce the effects of chronic diseases, it’s perhaps time to reconsider them.

"Traditional clinical recommendations have at times overlooked coffee's role in healthy ageing, 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," said Cunha.

The study also found links between regular coffee consumption and a lower risk of heart disease, lung disease, stroke, some cancers, diabetes, dementia, depression and frailty.

DISCLAIMER: This article, including health and fitness advice, only provides generic information. Don’t treat it as a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for specific health diagnosis.