Can coffee help you live longer? New studies say 3–5 cups a day may boost lifespan and slow age-related decline

Do you enjoy a few cups of coffee a day? Then, you might just be adding a few years to your lifespan. According to a study published in the National Library of Medicine, coffee may be helpful in promoting healthy aging, especially in relation to cardiovascular disease and mild cognitive impairment.

Additionally, consumption of coffee has been found to reduce all-cause mortality among Japanese population groups. It also seems to prevent the occurrence of heart and cerebrovascular disease to some extent.

The reason for coffee’s effectiveness is the presence of caffeine and other types of polyphenols. These, the article says, “inhibit the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex 1 (mTORC1) and prolong the life span of fission yeast.”

To summarise, several studies have suggested that coffee may help mitigate the effects of aging and reduce the risk of age-related diseases. Of course, more studies and analysis are needed to fully understand the process that leads to such results.

According to a study published in BMJ Mental Health and reported by Medical News Today, consuming coffee may prevent the shortening of telomeres.

Telomeres are “regions of repetitive DNA” located at the end of chromosomes that protect the latter from being damaged or frayed. With age, these telomeres become shorter as a direct effect of cellular aging.

People who suffer from serious mental ailments tend to have shorter telomeres and are, consequently, likely to have a lifespan around 15 years less.

However, a study conducted on 436 people in the 18-65 age group and afflicted with mental ailments revealed that daily coffee consumption of three to five cups meant that their telomere length became equal to that of those around five years younger.

However, greater consumption of coffee could be harmful, as noted by one of the researchers.

“Our findings indicate that coffee consumption is linked to a younger biological age, but these findings disappear if the person consumes too much coffee,” Monica Aas, part of the team, added.

More research is likely to be done on this phenomenon, but the current results tend to favour coffee consumption up to a certain point.