Coffee May Make You Live Longer, But Only If You Drink It This Way

Though drinking more than 400mg of caffeine a day might have some unwanted side effects, in general, it seems that those who stick to a moderate amount (less than four cups) a day might actually see some benefits. 

The drink has been linked to improved heart health, decreased dementia risk, and better ageing in women. 

And now, a new study published in The Journal of Nutrition says that your morning cup of Joe is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality and death by cardiovascular disease. 

But to reap the rewards of your morning cuppa, the scientists suggest, you might want to remove some common extras. 

The benefits only seem to extend to coffee without full-fat milk and loads of sugar

The study looked at back-to-back data from nine cycles of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (from 1999 to 2018). 

The research involved 46,000 participants over 20 who were asked to share what they ate and drank over 24 hours. 

The scientists found that drinking a cup of coffee a day is linked to a 16% lower risk of death, rising to 17% for two to three cups daily (participants did not get better results from drinking more cups of coffee after that; in fact the risk of dying from heart health issues rose after three cups). 

But this coffee benefit was only seen in black coffee with no sugar, or coffee with low levels of added sugar. 

The study’s first author Dr Bingjie Zhou shared in a statement: “Few studies have examined how coffee additives could impact the link between coffee consumption and mortality risk, and our study is among the first to quantify how much sweetener and saturated fat are being added.” 

The researcher added, “Our results align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which recommend limiting added sugar and saturated fat.”

It’s not the first study to notice coffee’s limitations 

A previous dementia study published earlier this year found that coffee was associated with a lower dementia risk, but only the unsweetened kind. 

“No such associations were observed for sugar-sweetened or artificially sweetened coffee,” the scientists added, sharing that “the recommendation leans toward the consumption of unsweetened and caffeinated coffee.”

That may not be the only lesson to learn from the Journal of Nutrition study, however. 

It’s built on previous research from Tualane University, which found that coffee is only linked to a longer life among morning drinkers (I’m feeling pretty smug about my 7-10am cups of black coffee right now...).