Do coffee drinkers live longer?

Well, what can I say?

Working for Siam Hills Coffee, we should naturally say yes, of course. I mean, it would be pretty awkward to advice you against drinking coffee.

We believe that coffee drinkers not only live longer and most of all happier, of course.

Anyhow, I will keep it honest and look at this subject in an objective way.

Actually, I would like to know the answer to the question myself. Do coffee drinkers really live longer? And what are some of the health benefits coming along with it?

What is your guess?

For me, even if I won’t extend my life by simply drinking coffee, I would still continue doing it anyway, just out of pure joy and pleasure. I am sure that would even be more important for a long and happy life.

Nevertheless, I did some research and will share results with you.

Coffee and Longevity

The majority of research agrees that coffee is one of the healthiest beverages on the planet.

It contains hundreds of different compounds, some of which offer important health benefits.

So far, so good, I would say.

Several large studies have shown that people who drink coffee in a moderate way are less likely to die early. So this would essentially mean that coffee drinkers liver longer.

The emphasis is on a moderate way of drinking coffee here. This means not drinking a crazy amount of coffee per day but maybe just a few cups.

Great Source of Antioxidants

When we are brewing our coffee in the morning, the hot water will run through the coffee grounds while brewing.

As a result, the natural chemical compounds in the beans mix with the water and become part of the drink.

Many of these compounds are so-called antioxidants.

Antioxidants are produced in your body and found in foods as well. To put it simple, they help defend your cells from damages caused by potentially harmful molecules known as free radicals.

In many countries and societies, coffee happens to be the biggest source of antioxidants. It usually outranks both fruits and vegetables together.

Please don’t misunderstand, this does not mean that coffee is richer in antioxidants than all fruits and vegetables.

This rather suggests that coffee consumption in general is much higher among society. People simply drink a lot more coffee than they are eating fruits and vegetables.

Therefore, coffee is the absolute main contributor to people’s antioxidant intake on average.

To sum up, we are not only getting caffeine when drinking a cup of coffee. But we even receive other beneficial compounds such as powerful antioxidants.

Are you convinced yet? So, do coffee drinkers live longer, now?

Let’s investigate a little bit more.

The wrong image

Somehow many people associate coffee with a pretty bad image in the first place, mostly due to its past.

According to researches by the Stanford Prevention Center many people linked coffee directly to smoking.

Back when studies on health and coffee consumption began, coffee drinkers were also likely to smoke regularly.

As we all know, the coffee culture and our habits going along with it have fundamentally changed.

Coffee in all of its forms and varieties has become a trendy lifestyle in itself, without smoking, which is generally very unhealthy, of course.

Newer research has separated the two. And as a result, coffee consumption is regarded in a much different and more positive way, proving to actually have many health benefits.

Fighting Death

Okay, this title sounds very dramatic but I have more good news for us.

Several studies show that regular coffee drinkers are at lower risk of dying from various serious diseases.

For example, one important study from 2012 on coffee consumption in more than 400.000 people aged 50-71 showed a pretty interesting result.

The people who drank coffee significantly died less during the next couple of years in 2013 and 2014.

The somehow sweet spot appeared to be around 4 to 5 cups per day. At this quantity, men and women had a 12% and 16% reduced risk of early death, respectively.

If you are drinking 6 or more cups per day that does not mean that it would make things worse. It just would not give you any additional benefits than drinking less than 6 cups.

However, I am not drinking 5 or 6 cups per day, do you maybe?

The same study also showed that moderate coffee consumption of just one or two cups per day would also lower death risks already, mostly around 6% for both genders.

You might wonder what particular causes of death we are talking about here.

Researchers found that coffee drinkers were less likely to die from infections, injuries, accidents, respiratory disease, diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

More recent studies support these general results and findings. It seems to be true, that coffee drinkers are consistently linked to a lower risk of early death. Here we go, coffee drinkers really seem to live longer.

Great news!

But please keep in mind that these studies base their findings on observations. It cannot entirely prove that coffee directly caused lower death rates.

On the other hand, they can reassure us that coffee is generally not a bad thing and does not need to be feared.

Don’t worry, be happy

What is even more fascinating is the fact that coffee does not just give us better chances for a possible longer life but coffee also makes us happier.

Apparently, studies have found out that the risk of depression can be reduced by drinking a cup of coffee here and there.

Thus, coffee may not only add years to your life. It might also add more value to your life.

A new skin product

Coffee might be good for your skin. Who would have thought that?

Whether it is an iced latte, a double espresso, or simply a hot cup of brown liquid. All of these types might not just give you a boost in life but also your skin.

Another study, just published last December found that participants who drank 4 cups of coffee per day were less likely to develop rosacea.

Enjoying coffee while taking care of your skin the same time, is a pretty good side effect, I would say.

What else does this magical brew of hot coffee have in store for us?

Drink more coffee

So, now, that we have learned about all of these great benefits associated with coffee, what does this mean for us?

Do we all have to start drinking coffee, now? And if you do already, would more be better?

As much as coffee suggests to be very beneficial in many ways, we would need more controlled trials and studies before such assumptions.

In general, coffee is great for our health. Okay, let’s agree on that.

What about the amount of sugar or cream you and me are adding to our daily cup of coffee?

This would most likely outweigh all benefits already.

Regardless of how much coffee you drink, using less of these sweet and fatty additives will certainly maximize the benefits in your daily life.

Are we only allowed to drink black coffee, now? Because of anything else would be bad for us?

Do you like black coffee? I prefer some additives to it.

To give coffee a flavor boost, I could recommend you spices like cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, raw cacao, nutmeg or even a small amount of milk or unsweetened milk alternative.

Go ahead and try one of these. Some of these ideas are really delicious.

Other good sweetener alternatives include a measured teaspoon of raw honey, agave, sugar or sweetener.

Potential Risk

It is also very important to mention, that pregnant women should strictly limit their coffee intake. Or they should maybe even try to stay without coffee throughout their entire pregnancy.

The main reason, pregnant women metabolize caffeine much more slowly.

Caffeine has many potential benefits, but there’s concern that it may be harmful when consumed during pregnancy.

On average, it can take 1.5 – 3.5 times longer to eliminate caffeine from your body when you are pregnant. Caffeine may also cross the placenta and enter the baby’s bloodstream. This may raise concerns that it can affect the baby’s health.

Which coffee to drink

Is there any particular type of coffee, which might be more beneficial than others?

Some scientists claim that ground or filtered coffee showed the best outcomes.

On the opposite, they don’t recommend to consume instant or decaffeinated coffee that much.

The reasoning behind that was that filtered coffee has greater levels of polyphenols or antioxidants.

These are the main benefits from coffee, which we also already found out earlier.

However, this does not necessarily mean, that instant or decaf has no benefits at all. They just show lower positive impacts.

A recent big study through a large group of UK adults completed health questionnaires, underwent physical examinations and provided biological samples.

The researchers found longevity benefits associated with nearly every level and type of coffee consumption.

Conclusion

Even though, I am working for Siam Hills Coffee, I promised you to stay as objective as best possible.

As you and I have learned, several studies indicate that drinking coffee reduces your risk of chronic disease and may even extend your life.

However, these types of studies can not entirely prove beyond any doubt that coffee is the real and direct cause of these health benefits.

Nevertheless, higher-quality evidence supports the idea that coffee may well be one of the healthiest beverages in our lives and on earth.

Many studies and researchers suggest that coffee drinking can be part of a healthy diet for us. Essentially, we can assume that coffee drinkers indeed liver longer and even more so happier.

What do you think?

And are you feeling happier when drinking coffee?