Two new studies published Monday indicated that drinking two to four cups of coffee a day could increase longevity for people of all different races and backgrounds.
The first study looked at more than 520,000 Europeans in 10 different countries and found that the more coffee participants drank, the lower their chances of premature death. The other studied non-white populations who drank two to four cups of coffee a day and found that they also had lower risk of death, CNN reported.
In particular, the European study showed fewer deaths from liver disease, suicide in men, cancer in women, digestive diseases, and circulatory diseases in coffee drinkers. Drinking three cups a day was associated with lower risk for all causes of death, CNN reported.
The studies controlled for smoking, and even smokers saw benefits from coffee drinking. It is possible that coffee drinkers are just healthier to begin with, co-author of the European study Marc Gunter admitted. When people avoid coffee in cultures where it is common to drink it, they may be doing so because of health problems, which means their higher death rates might be because they are less healthy than coffee drinkers, and not because of the coffee, Fortune reported.
After all, correlation doesn’t mean that coffee actually caused the longer life span, Fortune reminded.
Dr. Alberto Ascherio, professor of epidemiology and nutrition at Harvard University's T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said, “I think that the solid conclusion is that if you’re a coffee drinker, keep drinking your coffee and be happy. And if you’re not? I think you can go on drinking your tea or water without a problem,” CNN reported.
Coffee drinkers exulted about their longevity on Twitter and wondered what would happen if they drank even more coffee.