Secret to aging 'healthily': Trick to boost longevity and reduce chronic disease revealed
A morning cup of java could be doing more than help women wake up in the morning - because it could also aid with aging.
Research from Harvard University has found a connection between drinking coffee and healthy aging in women, with the findings presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition in Orlando on Monday.
The in-depth analysis found that middle-aged women who drank caffeinated coffee aged 'healthily' - which was defined as living to age 70 or older, being free from 11 major chronic diseases, maintaining physical function, having good mental health, exhibiting no cognitive impairment and showing no memory complaints.
However, the researchers didn't find any links between tea or decaf coffee and aging better.
On the other hand, drinking more cola was linked with lowering the chance of healthy aging.
'While past studies have linked coffee to individual health outcomes, our study is the first to assess coffee's impact across multiple domains of aging over three decades,' Dr. Sara Mahdavi, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, said.
'The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee, not tea or decaf, may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function.'
Researchers started collecting data from women who were part of the Nurses' Health Study in 1984, tracking almost 48,000 participants aged between 45 and 60.
All participants filled out surveys providing details about their diet and health across a span of 30 years with all data being recorded and analyzed.
The researchers assessed caffeine intake using validated food frequency questionnaires which included drinking popular forms of caffeine, including coffee, tea, cola and decaffeinated coffee.
Preliminary analyses accounted for other factors that might influence healthy aging, such as body weight, smoking, alcohol use, physical activity, education level and protein in the diet.
'Our study has several key strengths,' Dr. Mahdavi explained.
'In addition to the large sample size and 30 years of follow-up, we assessed several different aspects of longevity and healthy aging as well as very comprehensive information on nutritional and lifestyle habits that were collected every four years after the initiation of the study,' she added.
The researchers found that those deemed 'healthy agers' typically consumed an average of 315mg of caffeine per day, which in today's standards is the equivalent to three small cups of coffee or one and a half large cups.
'More than 80 percent of that caffeine came from regular coffee consumption,' the press release noted.
It continued: 'For women in the healthy agers group, each extra cup of coffee per day was tied to a two percent to five percent higher chance of doing well later in life.'
However, it noted that although soda also contains caffeine, participants who people drank it daily had a 20 percent to 26 percent lower likelihood of healthy aging, showing that not all types of caffeine are beneficial.
The study also noted that drinking up to two cups a day may offer additional benefits for some but may not be healthy for others.
There are some limitations to the study, with Dr. Mahdavi pointing out that the participants were mainly white, educated, female, health professionals.
'Further work is needed to confirm generalizability to broader populations,' she told Fox News Digital.
While she doesn't recommend starting to drink coffee if it's not already a part of your diet, she says it can contribute to a balanced diet for those who drink it.
'For people who already consume moderate amounts — typically two to four cups per day — this study adds to the evidence that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle,' the expert explained.
A study published earlier in the year found that drinking between one and several cups of coffee before midday was found to cut the risk of heart and circulatory diseases by a whopping 31 percent, in comparison with those who drink it throughout the day.
Research suggests the time you enjoy an espresso or flat white is more important to your health than how much you drink.
In the first study to examine the time it is consumed, researchers used data from more than 40,000 US adults taking part in studies examining health, nutrition and lifestyle over a decade.
They found distinct patterns of coffee drinking, with 36 percent enjoying it before midday, 16 percent consuming coffee throughout the day and half not drinking it at all.
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