Coffee doesn't make you live forever — but it might make you live longer

Some people would rather die than go without their morning coffee, but new research shows that people who drink moderate amounts of coffee may be less likely to die prematurely from some illnesses.

A new study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has shown that people who drink three to five cups of coffee a day gained numerous benefits, including a lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, type 2 diabetes and suicide.

Study author Ming Ding, a doctoral student in the Department of Nutrition, believes it's coffee's natural anti-inflammatory properties that bestow it with magical powers.

"Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation.

"That could explain some of our findings. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects."

Researchers gathered health data from three major studies that involved 208,501 participants, who were grilled on their coffee consumption every four years over about 30 years. Of the participants, 19,524 women and 12,432 men died from a range of causes.

The results showed that coffee consumption was associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, neurological diseases like Parkinson's and suicide.

The researchers accounted for factors like body mass index, diet, smoking habits and alcohol consumption. They found coffee consumption was not associated with cancer deaths.

"This study provides further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature death," concluded co-author Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard.