Drink Coffee, Live Healthier and Longer?

You've heard it all before. Coffee stunts your growth. Coffee stains your teeth. It’s about time the beautiful, bold beverage gets a chance to glow with some good press!

It turns out that drinking up to six, yes six, cups of coffee a day does not shorten your life. Decaf, regular—it doesn’t matter. It seems that in healthy people, especially women, coffee seems to benefit the heart. The emphasis is on “healthy people” because caffeine does provide a small spike in blood pressure, which could be harmful for people with a health diagnosis of hypertension or heart disease.

Some of the study’s key findings included:
—Women who drank two or three cups of caffeinated coffee every day had a 25% lower risk of death from heart disease than non-drinkers.
—Female coffee drinkers had an 18% lower death risk from a cause other than cancer or heart disease compared with non-coffee drinkers.
—Men who drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee every day had no less risk of dying from any condition than non-coffee drinkers.

Other recent studies have found that drinking coffee has lowered people’s risk for developing a diabetes health diagnosis and some cancers. However, researchers are cautious because the study used self-reporting methods, which can be skewed. In addition, if coffee makes your stomach hurt or gives you the jitters, don’t force yourself to drink it just for the possible health benefits.

Now that research shows coffee is brewing with so many health benefits, will you start chugging the brown stuff or stick to your regular routine? If you're handling a health diagnosis, has your doctor suggested you drink coffee for its health benefits? [HealthDay]