New Study Says Coffee Is Healthy

There is another reason to get out of bed if you’re an avid coffee drinker, and it’s not just to guzzle an early morning cup of joe. According to a new study, coffee lovers are drinking to their health.

A very, very extensive study followed over 200,000 doctors and nurses for 30 years, giving them physicals and questionnaires. And the results when it came to coffee are pretty striking: “Nonsmokers who drank a cup of coffee a day had a 6 percent reduced risk of death, one to three cups an 8 percent reduced risk, three to five cups a 15 percent reduced risk, and more than five cups a 12 percent reduced risk.” We’re not exactly sure how they calculated “Reduced risk of death” – but we like the sound of the phrase connected to consuming coffee.

Coffee drinkers saw declines in almost every deadly illness, except cancer. And – coffee and a cig? Nope. The coffee drinkers who still smoked weren’t able to sip away the litany of problems that come along with tobacco use.

One odd thing is that if there is a link between coffee and better health, it’s probably not due to the caffeine. Decaf drinkers saw the same benefits as regular Starbucks fans. So no matter what kind of coffee you like, as long as you’re not going too crazy on the sugar and cream, you may be doing your body good. Oh – and there are studies showing benefits from drinking black and green tea.

The downside? Coffee with caffeine is not recommended for people who have high blood pressure or problems sleeping at night.