Coffee buzz: Study finds java drinkers live longer

Good news, and more than a little refreshing. Seems most of the things we read about our diet these days point to how they reduce lifespan, not extend it. Finding a good cup of coffee in Japan is difficult though. Japan is crying out for a hip cafe culture - I've never enjoyed the Dotour/Exelsior experience.

Coffee drinkers were less likely to die from heart or respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes, injuries, accidents or infections.

Er... coffee-drinking prevents accidents? Really?

Er... coffee-drinking prevents accidents? Really?

Well, if you're sitting quietly sipping a cuppa, you're less likely to be skydiving, jaywalking, shovelling snow off the roof or inspecting your rice fields in the middle of a typhoon. Obviously much safer.

Er... coffee-drinking prevents accidents? Really?

more allert due to the cafeine? i think i have another cup

“Nothing is as satisfying to me as a cup of coffee in the morning, she said”

So, her day goes downhill from there? Pretty sad.

Researchers did not look at tea, soda or other beverages but plan to in future analyses.

So, the non-coffee drinkers could have been drinking soda or even tequila and we wouldn't even know it.

Also, the strongest benefits of coffee drinking were seen in people who were healthiest when the study began.

You don't say!

Freedman can’t say how much extra life coffee might buy.

Life is now a commodity! Yeah!

There are so many holes in this study, what a waste of money.

I knew it!!!! Nespresso's all round.

Another huge assumption that correlation equals causation. Rarely is this the case, especially when all you've got is anecdotal evidence. I do like coffee, however.

I can't help but be skeptical about this - seems impossible to determine whether this is just a correlation or actually causation. I've heard that caffeine is pretty nasty for you (and I say this as a soda addict, haha) so I'm not sure it's great to encourage people to drink coffee because it'll help them live longer.

On the other hand, coffee in moderation probably can't do any harm.

VespertoMay. 22, 2012 - 09:26AM JST Er... coffee-drinking prevents accidents? Really?

Coffee is a mild stimulant, and fatigue is the leading cause of traffic accidents, therefore coffee-drinking reduces accident rates.

Common sense really. Although in Japan I'd think that people probably need to main-line coffee to make up for their chronic lack of sleep.

I agree the next question needs to be whether the people who are able to handle more cups of coffee don't come with other built in advantages, such as a stronger liver and protective genes against other health risks (red meat, lack of exercise excessive alcohol etc).

Even in the new study, it first seemed that coffee drinkers were more likely to die at any given time. But they also tended to smoke, drink more alcohol, eat more red meat and exercise less than non-coffee-drinkers.

Er, I must be the minority in that: I don't like alcohol so don't drink, I have never smoked and I don't eat red meat. Exercise less.... well, yes they got that bit right lol

Seriously, why do these reports always generalise?

When I was at university the psychology department did an experiment where they had volunteers (from the student population) drink caffeine or a placebo and then circle every letter "T" on 3 pages of a book as fast as they could. The caffeine drinkers circled faster and were more accurate.

Unfortunately their research was then shut down when they tried to repeat the same experiment with marujuana, and a stampede of student volunteers left 3 people injured!

see, now you guys know I'll be here for a while. "Want another cup?"

Yup, until the next study tells us something different. We would all probably accept the results of this study as most accurate, so let's just ignore the results of all future studies.

Needless to say, these kinds of studies are so fraught with assumptions and hindered by other unforeseen causes that I don't pay them much attention at all.

Read the article, guys. This says it right there:

Careful, though -- this doesn't prove that coffee makes people live longer, only that the two seem related. Like most studies on diet and health, this one was based strictly on observing people's habits and resulting health. So it can't prove cause and effect.

what coffee bean?

what is the drinking rate?

I believe caffeine can be addictive... very much so. It also just makes you more jumpy, but not necessarily more alert.

frungy stupid analysis!