Could coffee be the true water of life?

DRINKING up to five cups of coffee a day could help you live longer, scientists say.

The beverage reduces the risk of an early death from heart disease, Parkinson’s disease and type 2 diabetes, they found. The 30-year study of more than 200,000 people suggests that drinking coffee also lowers the risk of people committing suicide.

Whether or not the coffee contained caffeine made no difference and the benefits are thought to be linked to plant compounds in coffee beans.

Authors of the US study, published in the journal Circulation, said drinking between three and five cups a day appears to have health benefits.

The results were combined from three studies in which participants completed food questionnaires every four years for around 30 years.

Lead scientist Ming Ding, of Harvard School of Public Health, said: ‘Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effects.’

Emily Reeve, senior cardiac nurse at the British Heart Foundation, said: ‘Previous research suggests that drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is not harmful to your cardiovascular health, and this study supports that.

‘But more research is needed to fully understand how coffee affects our body and what it is in coffee that may affect a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke.’

‘More research is needed’