Research Confirms: Coffee is Indeed the Drink of Life

In certain countries, coffee is called the 'drink of life'. Increasingly, scientific studies back up this name. While coffee might not bring the dead back to life (although many people are willing to testify that it has a similar effect on them...), it is certainly associated with a longer life expectancy.

A new study from the University of Southern California provides the latest evidence in the field. The study utilized data collected by a multi-ethnic study in collaboration with the University of Hawaii and the Keck School of Medicine. It tracked the habits of 215,000 people from around the world, and is considered one of the studies examining a particularly diverse population to discover risk factors that might lead to cancer.

Based on the study's data, researchers from the University of Southern California found that coffee is associated with a lower risk of death from heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, kidney diseases, and respiratory diseases—among African Americans, Japanese Americans, Hispanics, and Whites.

People who consumed one cup of coffee a day reduced their risk of dying from any disease by 12 percent, and those who drank 2-3 cups of coffee per day reduced their risk by 18 percent. One of the interesting findings was that the positive link between coffee and life expectancy was valid whether the participants drank regular or decaffeinated coffee, proving that the benefit is not necessarily linked to caffeine.

"We cannot say that drinking coffee will extend your life," says Professor Veronica Setiawan, lead researcher of the study. "But we can certainly see a connection. So if you like coffee—cheers! And if you haven't been drinking coffee until now, maybe it's time to start."

The study is the largest of its kind examining the impact of caffeine also on non-white, non-European origin people. "The fact that coffee's protective pattern appears among different populations provides stronger biological support for the argument that coffee is good for you whether you are Black or White, Hispanic or Asian," say the researchers.