This Common Morning Habit May Support Healthy Aging, New Study Says

Your morning cup of coffee might be doing more for you than just helping you stay awake. A recent study suggests that it could also help you stay healthier longer. The study included almost 50,000 women who were followed for 30 years starting in 1984 and found that women who drank caffeinated coffee in midlife were more likely to exhibit healthy aging.

A 30-Year Study Links Coffee to Longevity

The study tracked the participants' consumption of various drinks, including regular coffee, tea, decaffeinated coffee, and soda. Tea and decaf coffee drinkers did not experience the same results, while drinking more soda, even though it contains caffeine, was tied to a significantly lower 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,” says Sara Mahdavi, BSc, HBSc, RD, MSc, PhD, an adjunct professor at the University of Toronto who led the research study. “The findings suggest that caffeinated coffee—not tea or decaf—may uniquely support aging trajectories that preserve both mental and physical function.”

The findings, which have not yet been peer reviewed or published, were presented during the annual meeting of the American Society for Nutrition held earlier this month in Orlando.

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What Does Healthy Aging Mean in This Study?

To be considered as aging healthily, the participants had to live to at least age 70 and meet several criteria, including:

• Absence of 11 major chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes
• No significant cognitive impairment
• No memory complaints
• Maintenance of good mental health and physical function

Researchers also accounted for lifestyle factors such as exercise, smoking habits, alcohol use, body weight, and education level.

By 2016, 3,706 of the women met all the standards to be considered “healthy agers.”

How Much Coffee Did the Participants Consume?

The women in midlife, ages 45-60, typically consumed an average of 315 milligrams of caffeine per day—roughly the amount in three small cups of coffee or one and a half large cups.

Among these women, each extra cup of coffee per day was linked to a 2 to 5 percent higher chance of doing well later in life, up to five small cups per day or about 2.5 cups. The study did not account for how the coffee was prepared, such as including cream or sugar.

Why Coffee Might Help Aging

The beneficial effects of coffee have been attributed to certain bioactive compounds that could support better mental and physical function. But it's not a magic potion for healthy living.

“Moderate coffee intake may offer some protective benefits when combined with other healthy behaviors such as regular exercise, a healthy diet, and avoiding smoking," Mahdavi says. "While this study adds to prior evidence suggesting coffee intake may be linked with healthy aging, the benefits from coffee are relatively modest compared to the impact of overall healthy lifestyle habits and warrant further investigation."

It's important to note that drinking coffee may not benefit everyone. In another study, Mahdavi showed that genetic variation can influence the relationship between caffeine intake and health outcomes, so more caffeine isn’t always better, particularly for people with lower caffeine tolerance or specific genetic susceptibility.