A study published in May 2025 in the journal Progress in Contemporary Nutrition used data from the Nurse’s Health Study (NHS) in the US, one of the most reputable epidemiological databases today.
Coffee – benefits beyond a wake-up drink
According to the research team’s definition, “healthy longevity” means living to at least 70 years old, free from 11 common chronic diseases, physical or mental health issues, and cognitive or memory problems.
The analysis found that each additional cup of caffeinated coffee consumed per day increased the likelihood of healthy longevity by 5%. At the same time, the risk of chronic diseases was significantly reduced.
Interestingly, when considering caffeine intake from all sources (including tea, soft drinks, etc.), the increase in healthy longevity was only about 1%. Meanwhile, decaffeinated coffee and tea did not show a clear association with healthy lifespan.
This suggests that the health benefits come from caffeinated coffee, not just caffeine itself.
Sugar-sweetened beverages reduce lifespan
The same study also found that each additional cup of sugar-sweetened beverage consumed per day could reduce the likelihood of healthy longevity by 19%.
The data also revealed a concerning fact: of the over 47,000 participants who joined between 1984 (aged 30-55) and 2016, only about 7.8% met the criteria for “healthy longevity.” In other words, on average, only one in 13 people could maintain good health over 30 years.
Coffee has benefits for men too
Although the above study focused on women, another large study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2012 with nearly 500,000 participants (aged 50-71) found that:
Men who drank 2-3 cups of coffee per day
Women who drank 4-5 cups per day
… significantly reduced their risk of death from various causes, especially cardiovascular disease.
However, the data also showed that coffee drinkers tended to have a higher rate of smoking, which could mask the positive effects of coffee if not accounted for in the analysis.
Embrace the bitterness of coffee
Coffee is beneficial, but not everyone enjoys its bitter taste. Many people add sugar or syrup, reducing its health benefits.
Sugar is a double-edged sword: with modern diets already high in sugar, adding it to coffee significantly increases the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Coffee is not a “fountain of youth,” but it is a small daily investment in future health. However, to live a long and healthy life, coffee is just one part – more important is quitting bad habits such as smoking, drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, and physical inactivity.
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