New Study Says This Much Coffee Helps You Live Longer

The health benefits of coffee feel like they are constantly being debated. Some call it an elixir of health, others say not so much. Most recently, a new study suggests that drinking coffee could actually help you live longer and prevent heart disease. The secret is in the preparation.

For the study which was publishes in The Journal of Nutrition, researchers surveyed 20,487 Italian adults about their intake of “Italian-style” coffee — aka espresso. At the beginning of the study, none of the participants had cardiovascular disease or cancer. Nutrition data was collected for an average of eight years, and they each reported drinking at least one shot of espresso every day.

By the end of the study, the researchers were able to determine that compared with those who consumed one shot of espresso per day, those who drank three to four per day had a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality and, more specifically, death related to cardiovascular disease. The researchers believe that this is probably because of a compound in coffee called NT-proBNP.

If you’re not a huge fan of espresso, don’t worry. One cup of regular coffee is often equated to a shot of espresso. Not to mention, other research has suggested that there are several health benefits of coffee. For example, drinking around four cups per day has shown to lower all-cause mortality risk. Even further, the science says that regular coffee drinkers also have a lower risk of other health conditions like type 2 diabetes, cancer, depression, and even Alzheimer’s!

If drinking three or four cups of coffee seems like a lot, you can also try drinking decaf. Experts suggest that drinking decaf coffee has many of the same health benefits without side effects like the jitters.

So there you have it. If you needed a good excuse to fill up your mug, this new study supports previous findings that drinking coffee is actually great for your body. What ever way you decide to prepare it, you can be confident that you’re doing a good thing for your heart, brain, and more!