Coffee Drinkers Live Longer and Have Lower Risk of Disease, Say Two Awesome New Studies

Here’s why that morning cup of joe just might be the fountain of youth…

Good news for all you coffee lovers out there. According to two new scientific studies, it looks like downing a couple cups of wakey juice every day is absolutely fantastic for your health, and will help you avoid an untimely death by protecting you from a plethora of malicious diseases. How great is that?

The studies, which were published in the scientific journal Annals of Internal Medicine, essentially investigated whether or not coffee has any death-defying properties, and to the delight of millions of people around the globe, found that yes, coffee does, in fact, keep the Grim Reaper at bay.

Hell yes! This is great news. Absolutely wonderful.

In the first study–which, I should mention, was absolutely massive–more than 520,000 people from 10 European countries were surveyed on their coffee drinking habits, and when compared with data on mortality rates, it was discovered that those who drink more coffee were significantly less likely to die from a variety of shitty diseases.

The second study, which was smaller yet still pretty big, surveyed over 185,000 people of different races, and again, found that drinking coffee lowers your risk of death by a whopping 18 percent, and all things considered, that’s pretty significant.

“Given these very diverse populations, all these people have different lifestyles. They have very different dietary habits and different susceptibilities — and we still find similar patterns,” said Veronica Wendy Setiawan, associate professor of preventative medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

That said, despite the differences in lifestyles, the first study found an inverse relationship between coffee consumption and rates of liver disease, suicide, certain cancers, and digestive and circulatory diseases, and the second study found that drinking coffee reduces your risk of death because it protects against heart and respiratory diseases, certain cancers, strokes, diabetes, and kidney disease. Nice!

“We looked at multiple countries across Europe, where the way the population drinks coffee and prepares coffee is quite different,” said co-author of the first study, Marc Gunter.

“The fact that we saw the same relationships in different countries is kind of the implication that it’s something about coffee rather than its something about the way that coffee is prepared or the way it’s drunk,” he added, suggesting that coffee is basically the secret to a long and meaningful life.

But just why does drinking coffee help you live longer? Is it because it tastes like it was brought down from heaven on the back of a majestic Pegasus? Is it the dizzying, splendid aroma? Is it the delectable jolt of caffeine that makes you feel fast and beautiful that keeps you healthy? What is the secret?

Well, apparently, coffee contains certain compounds that have “neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties,” and considering a massive amount of diseases are caused by brain degeneration and/or inflammation, it only makes sense that coffee is healthy.

The first study discovered that coffee drinkers had “lower levels of inflammation, healthier lipid profiles, and better glucose control” compared to those who abstain from the delicious beverage, so it looks like the human body really likes some of the chemical compounds coffee contains.

Unfortunately, the researchers point out that they’re not entirely sure which compounds we seem to be benefiting from just yet, but Gunter says he’ll probably be researching this very topic in the near future.

“I think that the solid conclusion is that if you’re a coffee drinker, keep drinking your coffee and be happy,” says Dr. Alberto Ascherio, professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Amen, Dr. Ascherio! You don’t have to tell me twice.

In conclusion, my friends, I suggest we all live by this mantra for the time being: two to four cups of coffee a day keeps the Grim Reaper away.

H/T: CNN