Elixir of life in four cups

DRINKING four cups of coffee a day significantly cuts the chance of an early death, research suggests.

A study of 20,000 people found heavy consumption cut the risk of dying young by up to two-thirds.

The Spanish researchers, who tracked people aged 25 to 60 for a decade, believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee benefit the heart.

Because the participants were relatively young, with an average age of 37 at the start of the study, the average chance of dying during the 10 years they were studied was very low – 1.7 per cent. But the researchers found the risk of death fell even further among those who drank the most coffee.