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FOR MOST PEOPLE, the morning doesn’t start until the first sip of coffee. While one cup might shake off sleep, the average American needs an average of three cups to get through the day. And if you’re looking to live a long life, you might want to have another.
The findings from a study published in BMJ Mental Health might give you another reason to pour another cup. Scientists have observed molecular evidence that drinking a certain amount of coffee daily could extend your life by up to five years. But of course, there’s a catch—and we’re not talking about jitters.
The Amount of Coffee to Drink Daily for a Long Lifespan
Scientists estimate drinking 3 to 4 cups of coffee will add 5 years to your life. How did they arrive at this number? They looked at one of the hallmark markers of longevity: telomere lengths.
Here’s a high school biology refresher. Telomeres are protective caps found at the end of DNA. It protects your genetic material from getting frayed or damaged. Telomeres naturally shorten with age, though factors like chronic stress and smoking can accelerate this process. Short telomeres have been linked to increased risk of diseases and early death. For this reason, scientists use telomere lengths as a “cellular clock” to get an idea of people’s life expectancy.
In the study, researchers gathered data from 436 people between 18 to 65 who reported drinking 0 to 5 cups a day. To study people’s telomere length, they took blood samples from each participant and sent them to a lab for analysis using a tool called quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. The tool pulls out DNA in the blood sample and amplifies it so scientists can measure telomere length.
Now one important detail is that each person in the study had a severe mental health condition, such as schizophrenia or depression. People with these type of conditions usually have shorter telomeres than other people of the same age. But would drinking lots of coffee make a difference in the rate of telomere loss, and indirectly, live them live longer?
The answer: It looks like it. People who didn’t drink coffee had shorter telomere lengths than those who drank three to four cups of coffee a day. The researchers estimated the length was comparable to being biologically five years younger.
Will You Live Longer if You Drink 5 or More Cups?
Not really. You have a better chance of getting heartburn. People who drank three to four cups showed longer telomeres compared to non-coffee drinkers. But these observed effects went away at five cups.
This aligns with the US Food and Drug Administration’s recommended limit for daily caffeine consumption. Their advice is to go no further than 400 milligrams, equivalent to about four 8-ounce cups of brewed coffee. There’s more side effects than health benefits when you drink beyond four cups, including tummy troubles to high blood pressure.
How Might Coffee Help With Longevity?
The study authors didn’t go into depth on this but there are a few theories on how coffee may help people live longer. First, the compounds found in coffee.
This association may be due to the compounds that coffee contains. “They either have direct antioxidant effects or can stimulate our cells to improve their own antioxidant defenses,” says Tommy Wood, PhD, assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Washington School of Medicine and author of The Stimulated Mind: Future-Proof Your Brain from Dementia and Stay Sharp at Any Age. “By decreasing oxidative stress, we might see less damage to DNA and other parts of the cell that would otherwise result in shortening of telomere lengths and accelerated aging.”
Research has also linked black coffee with a lower risk of developing a slew of chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes, Parkinson’s, and some cancers. A study published in The Journal of Nutrition back in July analyzed data from 46,000 adults and found that those who had up to three cups of black coffee or coffee with low levels of added sugar and saturated fat had a 14 percent lower risk of dying from any cause compared to people who didn’t drink coffee.
Since decaf retains some of the antioxidants found in regular coffee, Jessica Cording, RD, CDN, a dietitian and author of The Little Book of Game-Changers, says decaffeinated coffee can still give people a variety of health benefits. “If you’re caffeine sensitive, you have options.”
Still, caffeine could provide some explanation between telomere length and coffee. Wood says there’s evidence pointing to caffeine directly increasing the activity of the enzyme that helps maintain the length of telomeres.
Though he cautions using telomere length as anything more than a rough predictor of lifespan. You can’t discount habits like diet and exercise that are just as important in longevity. “We also don’t know whether those who abstain from coffee have medical or other conditions that cause them to abstain, which may also explain some of the results,” Wood adds.
A Major Way Coffee Could Harm Longevity
Not to kill the buzz, but packing on a mountain of creamer or sugars will undo any longevity benefits of coffee.
“With black coffee, you will be reaping the benefits in terms of antioxidant content and fiber,” Cording says. “However, if you add a lot of sugar or creamers that can add additional calories and carbohydrates, which can add up and potentially negatively impact health, depending on the amount and how much you eat.”
Other than that, keep on sipping your coffee. You could be doing your health a solid for decades to come.
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