I love my Mountain Cabin coffee and drink a cup or more daily. Growing up ideas on coffee have changed many times. Some years coffee was good for you with it’s energy boosting caffeine, then it was bad for you, too much caffeine was unhealthy and every few years the position would revert good to bad or bad to good. All I know I wasn’t giving up my coffee, I was sticking to caffeinated, black coffee and drinking in moderation. Most recently, coffee has been back on the “nice” list because it contains antioxidants that are good for us all.
Now there is a new study released by the University of California-Irvine that claims coffee and alcohol could help us live past 90. It claims moderate alcohol and coffee consumption could be linked to living a longer life. Started in 2003, “The 90+ Study” examined 1,600 participants of the “oldest-old” age group, to determine the key factors to living to 90 years of age and beyond. The study is one of the world’s largest examinations of the age group, which is also the fastest-growing in the U.S., the publishers of the study claim. According to the research, “people who drank moderate amounts of alcohol or coffee lived longer than those who abstained.” Somewhat surprisingly, the study also claims that “people who were overweight in their 70s lived longer than normal or underweight people did.”
There are other studies that claim that having a healthy coffee habit can help you live longer, as well as studies that report moderate alcohol consumption is the key to a long life. Perhaps combining these two things is the fountain of youth. One study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that drinking up to eight cups of coffee a day, even decaf, could prevent premature death.
A new study of nearly half a million people in the United Kingdom suggests a lower risk of death was associated with drinking more coffee, including among coffee drinkers who have eight or more cups per day, in both slow and fast metabolizers of caffeine, and in drinkers of ground, instant, and decaffeinated coffee.
The results come with a warning to interpret them with caution because they are based on observational data and cannot prove causation,” a press release about the August 2018 study explained. While a straight line can’t be definitively drawn between coffee and living longer, these types of studies certainly make a case for dedicating more resources to researching the properties of coffee and alcohol.
The critical word in all of this is “moderate” consumption, which the Dietary Guidelines for Americans defines as up to one alcoholic drink (containing 14 grams of pure alcohol) per day for women, and two for men.
As to whether or not casual alcohol consumption can help you live longer, an analysis of 87 studies about the topic published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs reported that there is no direct evidence that drinkers live longer than non-drinkers. Basically, it’s really not clear what will help you see your 90th birthday.
However, if you enjoy coffee, go ahead and drink it. If you like to have a few drinks a week, it’s probably not going to hurt you. However, if neither of these things are your jam, there’s no reason to start consuming them now.
All I know I’m sticking with my Mountaiin Cabin Coffee and wine with dinner.
How about you?
