There is good news for coffee lovers. A new report claims that regular coffee drinkers may live longer than those who do not drink coffee. Researchers say there is growing evidence that coffee benefits the health, makes you live longer, and reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, other life-threatening illnesses, and even suicide. The study was published by the American Heart Association. It looked at the coffee-drinking habits of over 200,000 people who drank between one and five cups of coffee a day. Researcher Dr Frank Hu said: "This study provides further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature death due to several diseases."
Scientists have been working hard to analyse exactly what is in coffee that provides so many benefits to the health. Dozens of reports in the past few decades have highlighted the positive effects it can have on the body. Dr Hu said it was still unclear precisely how elements within the coffee bean interact with the body. He said: "Coffee is a complex beverage. It's very difficult to pinpoint which component of coffee is responsible for which benefit." Researchers did not include highly caffeinated drinks in the study. They also pointed out that while coffee seems to have health benefits, added ingredients, such as cream, sugar and certain types of sweeteners, do not.