It’s been known that coffee drinkers live longer than abstainers, but it wasn’t altogether clear why.
“What excites me is that we now know that aging, or more specifically age-related diseases, can be avoided or delayed by behavioral means,” says the study’s lead author David Furman.
“One mechanism associated with chronic inflammation can be easily inhibited simply by increasing caffeine intake.”
“If we can control chronic inflammation, we could have a much longer lifespan and most importantly, health span,” Furman says.
“Caffeine can block the effect of molecules that cause inflammation, so it may have a protective function on aging and the development of chronic illnesses.”
Furman and his team plan to follow up on further studies looking at the immune systems of 1,000 people and addressing the link between caffeine, chronic inflammation and cardiovascular disease.
