(CNN) Greater consumption of coffee could lead to a longer life, according to two new studies published Monday.

People who drank two to four cups a day had an 18% lower risk of death compared with people who did not drink coffee, according to the study. These findings are consistent with previous studies that had looked at majority white populations, said Veronica Wendy Setiawan, associate professor of preventative medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine, who led the study on nonwhite populations.

"Given these very diverse populations, all these people have different lifestyles. They have very different dietary habits and different susceptibilities -- and we still find similar patterns," Setiawan said.

The new study shows that there is a stronger biological possibility for the relationship between coffee and longevity and found that mortality was inversely related to coffee consumption for heart disease, cancer, respiratory disease, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

The study on European countries revealed an inverse association between coffee and liver disease, suicide in men, cancer in women, digestive diseases and circulatory diseases. Those who drank three or more cups a day had a lower risk for all-cause death than people who did not drink coffee.

Both studies were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

"We looked at multiple countries across Europe, where the way the population drinks coffee and prepares coffee is quite different," said Marc Gunter, reader in cancer epidemiology and prevention at Imperial College's School of Public Health in the UK, who co-authored the European study.

"The fact that we saw the same relationships in different countries is kind of the implication that its something about coffee rather than its something about the way that coffee is prepared or the way it's drunk," he said.

The biological benefits -- and caveats

Coffee is a complex mixture of compounds, some of which have been revealed in laboratories to have biological effects, Gunter said.

Studies have shown that certain compounds have neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory properties that can help reduce risk for illnesses like Parkinson's disease.

In the European study, people who were drinking coffee tended to have lower levels of inflammation, healthier lipid profiles and better glucose control compared with those who weren't. It is still unclear which particular compounds provide health benefits, but Gunter said he would be interested in exploring this further.

JUST WATCHED How to make the perfect cup of coffee Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH How to make the perfect cup of coffee 01:21

Both studies separated smokers from nonsmokers, since smoking is known to reduce lifespan and is linked to various deceases. However, they found that coffee had inverse effects on mortality for smokers too.

"Smoking doesn't seem to blunt the effects of coffee," Gunter said. "It didn't matter whether you smoked or not. There was still a potential beneficial affect of coffee on mortality."

However, Dr. Alberto Ascherio, professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said people should be wary of this finding.

"Even if it was in some way true, it doesn't make sense to me, because by smoking, you increase your mortality several-fold. Then, if you reduce it by 10% drinking coffee, give me a break," said Ascherio, who was not involved in the study.

"I think it's a dangerous proposition because it suggests that a smoker can counteract the effects of smoking by drinking coffee, which is borderline insane."

The studies complement work that has been done on coffee and mortality, he said, and it has been reasonably documented that coffee drinkers have a lower risk of death.

With all observations from previous studies, however, it's difficult to exclude the possibility that coffee drinkers are just healthier to begin with, Gunter said.

People who avoid coffee, particularly in places like the US and Europe where drinking the beverage is very common, may do so because they have health problems. Their higher mortality rate could be a result of them being less healthy to begin with.

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"I think that the solid conclusion is that if you're a coffee drinker, keep drinking your coffee and be happy," Ascherio said. And if you're not? "I think you can go on drinking your tea or water without a problem."

Meanwhile, Gunter and Setiawan stand a bit more firmly on coffee as a health benefit.

"The takeaway message would be that drinking a couple cups of coffee a day doesn't do you any harm, and actually, it might be doing you some good," he said.

"Moderate coffee consumption can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle," Setiawan said. "This studies and the previous studies suggest that for a majority of people, there's no long term harm from drinking coffee."</s>If you need your morning, afternoon and evening coffee fixes, two new studies are offering you good news: people who drink a few cups of coffee per day may live longer than non-coffee drinkers. Your morning cup of java may even lower your risk of dying from heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and kidney disease.

These are the promising findings coming out of a large-scale study out of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Imperial College London and the University of Southern California.

“We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association,” Dr. Veronica Setiawan, lead author of the USC study, said. “We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases,” Dr. Marc Gunter, of the IARC, said.

The IARC is the World Health Organization’s cancer research arm. In its latest study, which it’s calling the “largest study of its kind,” the global agency suggests that drinking about three cups of coffee a day cuts the risk of death from all causes.

The findings are based on data from more than 500,000 people across 10 European countries, including Denmark, France, Italy and the U.K. The study participants were 35 and older.

The Danes reported the highest level of coffee consumption – 900 millilitres per day – while Italians reported the lowest at 92 millilitres per day. Across the board, the heaviest coffee drinkers tended to be younger, smokers, drinkers and people who ate more meat and fewer fruits and vegetables.

READ MORE: Your morning cup of coffee also wakes your memory, study suggests

Coffee consumption varied from country to country, from espresso in Italy to cappuccino in the U.K.

At the 16-year follow-up, 42,000 people had died from various diseases, such as cancer, heart failure and stroke. After controlling for lifestyle factors, such as diet and smoking, the scientists learned that those who drank the most coffee had a lower risk of dying compared to people who didn’t drink coffee at all.

After zeroing in on a subset of the study’s participants, the scientists found that coffee drinkers had “healthier livers” and better glucose control than non-coffee drinkers.

Decaffeinated coffee even had an effect.

“Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs. Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee,” Gunter said.

READ MORE: Does drinking coffee cause cancer? World Health Organization doesn’t think so

In the U.S. findings, the West coast researchers suggest that people in the study sample who drank a cup of coffee a day were 12 per cent less likely to die compared to those who didn’t drink coffee.

The link becomes more pronounced for those who drank two to three cups a day – they had an 18 per cent reduced chance of dying.

Your morning pick-me-up’s perks extend into boosting memory, fighting Type 2 diabetes and lowering risk of several types of cancer scientists have suggested in handfuls of studies.

READ MORE: Why the FDA is warning parents about powdered caffeine

“Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention,” Setiawan said.

Harvard researchers found that coffee drinkers were 50 per cent less likely to get liver cancer than non-drinkers. Other studies have pointed to coffee’s link to lower rates of colon, breast and rectal cancers.

It didn’t matter if people drank their coffee black, decaf, half-caf or even instant in a University of Southern California study – coffee, across the board, lowered risk of colorectal cancer.

Read the IARC study and the USC study.</s>Coffee not only helps you feel full of beans - it might add years to your life as well, two major studies have shown.

Scientists in Europe and the US have uncovered the clearest evidence yet that drinking coffee reduces the risk of death.

One study of more than half a million people from 10 European countries found that men who downed at least three cups of coffee a day were 18% less likely to die from any cause than non-coffee drinkers.

Women drinking the same amount benefited less, but still experienced an 8% reduction in mortality over the period measured.

Similar results were reported by American scientists who conducted a separate investigation, recruiting 185,855 participants from different ethnic backgrounds.

Irrespective of ethnicity, people who drank two to three cups of coffee daily had an 18% reduced risk of death.

Each of the studies, both published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed no advantage from drinking either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Experts believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee rather than caffeine are responsible for the life-extending effect.

Previous research has suggested that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and some cancers.

Dr Marc Gunter, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who led the European study with colleagues from Imperial College London, said: “We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases.

“Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs. Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee.”

Dr Gunter’s team examined data from 521,330 participants in the Epic (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. The investigation spanned 10 European countries including the UK, France, Denmark and Italy.

The Danes drank the most coffee by volume - 900ml per person per day - and the Italians the least.

After 16 years almost 42,000 people taking part in the study had died from a range of causes including cancer, circulatory disease, heart failure and stroke.

Compared with non-coffee drinkers, men in the top 25% of consumers were 12% less likely to die. Women in the same category had a 7% lower chance of death.

In terms of numbers of cups of coffee consumed, men and women who drank three or more cups had an 18% and 7% reduced risk of death respectively.

The US study focused on ethnicity because lifestyle habits and disease risk varies greatly among people from different races and cultures.

The US researchers also looked at death rates over a period of 16 years. A quarter of participants drank two to three cups of coffee per day and 7% consumed four or more cups.

People who drank one cup of coffee daily were 12% less likely to die than those who drank no coffee, the results showed. Drinking two to three cups of coffee reduced the chances of death by 18%.

Lead author Dr Veronica Setiawan, from the University of Southern California, said: “We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association. If you like to drink coffee, drink up! If you’re not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start.”

She added: “Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention.

“Although this study does not show causation or point to what chemicals in coffee may have this ‘elixir effect’, it is clear that coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle.”

Both teams of researchers took account of other lifestyle factors, such as diet, that may have influenced their findings.

Coffee is the world’s favourite beverage, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups drunk globally each day.

Britons consume around 55 million cups of coffee per day, according to the British Coffee Association.</s>Coffee not only helps you feel full of beans – it might add years to your life as well, two major studies have shown.

Scientists in Europe and the US have uncovered the clearest evidence yet that drinking coffee reduces the risk of death. One study of more than half a million people from 10 European countries found that men who downed at least three cups of coffee a day were 18% less likely to die from any cause than non-coffee drinkers.

Women drinking the same amount benefited less, but still experienced an 8% reduction in mortality over the period measured.

Similar results were reported by American scientists who conducted a separate investigation, recruiting 185,855 participants from different ethnic backgrounds. Irrespective of ethnicity, people who drank two to three cups of coffee daily had an 18% reduced risk of death.

Each of the studies, both published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed no advantage from drinking either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee. Experts believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee rather than caffeine are responsible for the life-extending effect.

Previous research has suggested that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and some cancers.

Dr Marc Gunter, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who led the European study with colleagues from Imperial College London, said: “We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases.

“Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs. Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee.”

Dr Gunter’s team examined data from 521,330 participants in the Epic (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. The investigation spanned 10 European countries including the UK, France, Denmark and Italy. The Danes drank the most coffee by volume – 900ml per person per day – and the Italians the least.

After 16 years almost 42,000 people taking part in the study had died from a range of causes including cancer, circulatory disease, heart failure and stroke. Compared with non-coffee drinkers, men in the top 25% of consumers were 12% less likely to die. Women in the same category had a 7% lower chance of death.

In terms of numbers of cups of coffee consumed, men and women who drank three or more cups had an 18% and 7% reduced risk of death respectively.

The US study focused on ethnicity because lifestyle habits and disease risk varies greatly among people from different races and cultures.

The US researchers also looked at death rates over a period of 16 years. A quarter of participants drank two to three cups of coffee per day and 7% consumed four or more cups.

People who drank one cup of coffee daily were 12% less likely to die than those who drank no coffee, the results showed. Drinking two to three cups of coffee reduced the chances of death by 18%.</s>Drinking more coffee could prolong life, two new studies suggest. These results add to the controversial, long-running debate surrounding coffee and its health effects.

One study conducted a survey on over 520,000 people in 10 European countries – now the largest study on coffee and mortality. It found that a greater consumption of coffee could lower a person’s mortality risk significantly, CNN reports.

The second study focused on non-white populations, surveying 185,000 African-Americans, Native Americans, Hawaiians, Japanese-Americans, Latinos and whites. The results were the same: coffee increases lifespan across races.

Those who drank two to four cups a day had an 18% lower chance of mortality compared to people who did not drink coffee, the study stated. These findings are consistent with other research that looked at white populations, according to lead author Veronica Wendy Setiawan, associate professor of preventative medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.

This study reveals that there is a strong biological component to the relationship between coffee and longevity. Coffee consumption appeared to be linked to lower death risks from heart disease, cancer, stroke, respiratory diseases, diabetes, and kidney disease.

The European study, on the other hand, showed an inverse association between drinking coffee and liver disease, suicide in men, cancer in women, digestive diseases and circulatory diseases. People who drank three or more cups of coffee daily had a lower mortality risk compared to those who did not drink any.

Marc Gunter, co-author on the study and reader in cancer epidemiology and prevention at Imperial College’s School of Public Health in the UK, said, “We looked at multiple countries across Europe, where the way the population drinks coffee and prepares coffee is quite different.”

He said, “The fact that we saw the same relationships in different countries is kind of the implication that it’s something about coffee rather than its something about the way that coffee is prepared or the way it’s drunk.”

The two studies were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.</s>Coffee not only helps you feel full of beans - it might add years to your life as well, two major studies have shown.

Scientists in Europe and the US have uncovered the clearest evidence yet that drinking coffee reduces the risk of death.

One study of more than half a million people from 10 European countries found that men who downed at least three cups of coffee a day were 18% less likely to die from any cause than non-coffee drinkers.

Women drinking the same amount benefited less, but still experienced an 8% reduction in mortality over the period measured.

Similar results were reported by American scientists who conducted a separate investigation, recruiting 185,855 participants from different ethnic backgrounds.

Irrespective of ethnicity, people who drank two to three cups of coffee daily had an 18% reduced risk of death.

Each of the studies, both published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed no advantage from drinking either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Experts believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee rather than caffeine are responsible for the life-extending effect.

Previous research has suggested that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and some cancers.

Dr Marc Gunter, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who led the European study with colleagues from Imperial College London, said: "W e found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases.

"Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs. Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee."

Dr Gunter's team examined data from 521,330 participants in the Epic (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. The investigation spanned 10 European countries including the UK, France, Denmark and Italy.

The Danes drank the most coffee by volume - 900ml per person per day - and the Italians the least.

After 16 years almost 42,000 people taking part in the study had died from a range of causes including cancer, circulatory disease, heart failure and stroke.

Compared with non-coffee drinkers, men in the top 25% of consumers were 12% less likely to die. Women in the same category had a 7% lower chance of death.

In terms of numbers of cups of coffee consumed, men and women who drank three or more cups had an 18% and 7% reduced risk of death respectively.

The US study focused on ethnicity because lifestyle habits and disease risk varies greatly among people from different races and cultures.

The US researchers also looked at death rates over a period of 16 years. A quarter of participants drank two to three cups of coffee per day and 7% consumed four or more cups.

People who drank one cup of coffee daily were 12% less likely to die than those who drank no coffee, the results showed. Drinking two to three cups of coffee reduced the chances of death by 18%.

Lead author Dr Veronica Setiawan, from the University of Southern California, said: "We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association. If you like to drink coffee, drink up! If you're not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start."

She added: "Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention.

"Although this study does not show causation or point to what chemicals in coffee may have this 'elixir effect', it is clear that coffee can be incorporated into a healthy diet and lifestyle."

Both teams of researchers took account of other lifestyle factors, such as diet, that may have influenced their findings.

Coffee is the world's favourite beverage, with an estimated 2.25 billion cups drunk globally each day.

Britons consume around 55 million cups of coffee per day, according to the British Coffee Association.

Sir David Spiegelhalter, Winton professor for the public understanding of risk at Cambridge University, said: " If these estimated reductions in all-cause mortality really are causal, then an extra cup of coffee every day would on average extend the life of a man by around three months, and a woman by around a month.

"Pro-rata, that's as if that cup of coffee puts, on average, around nine minutes on a man's life, and around three minutes on a woman's. So perhaps we should relax and enjoy it."

Dr Tim Chico, reader in cardiovascular medicine at the University of Sheffield, said: " What can we conclude from these studies? The authors of both papers sensibly go no further than concluding that their results show that coffee drinking is not harmful.

"The only way to be certain whether or not coffee might make people live longer is to force many thousands of people to drink it regularly, while preventing many thousands of otherwise similar people to never drink coffee.

"A study like this is never going to take place, so we may never know the answer to this question.

"I don't think this study should lead anyone to drink more coffee in search of a health benefit that might not actually exist.

"It is useful to compare this to the proven benefits of physical activity. A 20-minute walk to a local coffee shop will definitely provide many health benefits, even if you don't actually go in and buy anything."</s>Coffee not only helps you feel full of beans – it might add years to your life as well, two major studies have shown.

Scientists in Europe and the US have uncovered the clearest evidence yet that drinking coffee reduces the risk of death.

One study of more than half a million people from ten European countries found that men who downed at least three cups of coffee a day were 18 per cent less likely to die from any cause than non-coffee drinkers.

Women drinking the same amount benefited less, but still experienced an 8 per cent reduction in mortality over the period measured.

Similar results were reported by American scientists who conducted a separate investigation, recruiting 185,855 participants from different ethnic backgrounds.

Irrespective of ethnicity, people who drank two to three cups of coffee daily had an 18 per cent reduced risk of death.

Each of the studies, both published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, showed no advantage from drinking either caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee.

Experts believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee rather than caffeine are responsible for the life-extending effect. Previous research has suggested that drinking coffee can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and some cancers.

Dr Marc Gunter, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, who led the European study with colleagues from Imperial College London, said: “We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases.

“Importantly, these results were similar across all of the ten European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs.”

Dr Gunter’s team examined data from 521,330 participants in the Epic (European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition) study. The investigation spanned 10 European countries including the UK, France, Denmark and Italy.

The Danes drank the most coffee by volume – 900ml per person per day – and the Italians the least.

After 16 years almost 42,000 people taking part in the study had died from a range of causes including cancer, circulatory disease, heart failure and stroke.

Compared with non-coffee drinkers, men in the top 25 per cent of consumers were 12 per cent less likely to die. Women in the same category had a 7 per cent lower chance of death.</s>Coffee addicts and aficionados often say drinking the bitter liquid makes life worth living, but the habit may also help them live longer, according to two major international studies Monday.

Experts cautioned, however, that the U.S. and European reports, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, failed to show that coffee was the reason that many drinkers appeared to have longer lives. Rather, the studies were observational in nature, meaning they showed a link between coffee-drinking and a propensity toward longevity, but stopped short of proving cause and effect.

The first study, led by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and Imperial College London, examined more than half a million people across 10 countries in Europe.

Those who drank about three cups a day tended to live longer than non-coffee drinkers, said the study, which researchers described as the largest analysis of the effects of coffee-drinking in a European population.

"We found that higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases," said lead author Marc Gunter of the IARC, formerly at Imperial's School of Public Health.

"Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs."

The second study included more than 180,000 participants of various ethnic backgrounds in the United States.

It found benefits to longevity whether the coffee was caffeinated or decaffeinated. Coffee drinkers had a lower risk of death due to heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and respiratory and kidney disease.

Those who drank one cup a day were 12 per cent less likely to die compared to those who didn't drink coffee. Those who drank two or three cups per day saw an even higher 18 per cent reduced risk of death.

"We cannot say drinking coffee will prolong your life, but we see an association," said lead author Veronica Setiawan, an associate professor of preventive medicine at the Keck School of Medicine of University of Southern California.

"If you like to drink coffee, drink up! If you're not a coffee drinker, then you need to consider if you should start."

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks in the world. Some 2.25 billion cups are consumed every day.

Many prior studies have hailed the benefits of coffee-drinking, saying the beverage imparts anti-oxidants, may improve liver function and reduce inflammation. But coffee may carry risks for some people, and pregnant woman and children are urged to avoid caffeine, which can be fatal in high doses.

A report from the IARC last year that said drinking very hot beverages -- coffee, tea or otherwise -- is one probable cause of cancer of the esophagus, the tube that runs from the throat to the stomach.

Experts who were not involved in the latest studies urged caution in interpreting the results.

For instance, the European study excluded people who had cancer, heart disease or diabetes, meaning it took a measure of people over 35 who were already generally healthy.

It also asked about coffee consumption just once, at the beginning, and did not update this figure over the span of the study, which included an average follow-up time of 16 years.

Finally, it found signs of a link between women who drank large amounts of coffee and a higher risk of cancer death, but downplayed this finding, saying it "may be spurious."

The "conclusions will not lead me to start drinking coffee or to recommend people drink more coffee as a way to lessen their risks for heart disease," said Naveed Sattar, professor of metabolic medicine at the University of Glasgow.

"I remain unconvinced that the link between coffee and heart disease represents a true cause and effect relationship and that coffee is truly protective, regardless of how large a study suggests this."

Sattar said that one downside to the research is the fact that many people stop drinking coffee -- or drink less of it -- when they are ill, a "bias that is very hard to fully overcome."

David Spiegelhalter, a professor at the University of Cambridge, described the research as "huge in size and carefully done," but nevertheless unable to prove cause and effect.

"If these estimated reductions in all-cause mortality really are causal, then an extra cup of coffee every day would on average extend the life of a man by around three months, and a woman by around a month," he added.

"So perhaps we should relax and enjoy it."</s>Drinking three cups of coffee a day could extend your life, research suggests.

Two major studies, one led by British researchers and one in the US, have independently found consuming up to three cups a day reduces the risk of an early death.

The papers, both published last night in the Annals of Internal Medicine, found links between coffee and reduced risks of liver disease, circulatory problems and diseases linked to the digestive tract.

The scientists believe the antioxidant plant compounds in coffee are responsible for the benefits, rather than caffeine.

People who drank decaffeinated coffee were also protected, the researchers found.

Coffee seems to improve liver function, reduce inflammation and boost the immune system, they discovered.

The European study, led by Imperial College London and the UN International Agency for Research on Cancer, tracked 520,000 people over the age of 35 in ten countries for an average 16 years.

It found men who drank three cups of coffee a day were 18 per cent less likely to die over that period, when compared to people who did not drink coffee at all.

Women who drank three cups a day had an 8 per cent reduced chance of death.

The US study, led by the University of Southern California, which involved 186,000 people, who were also tracked for 16 years, found similar results. Americans who consumed a cup of coffee a day were 12 per cent less likely to die compared to those who didn’t drink coffee, and those who drank three cups had an 18 per cent reduced chance of death.

European study leader Dr Marc Gunter of the IARC, previously of Imperial’s School of Public Health, said: ‘We found higher coffee consumption was associated with a lower risk of death from any cause, and specifically for circulatory diseases, and digestive diseases.

‘Importantly, these results were similar across all of the ten European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs.’

The researchers also found that coffee drinkers had healthier livers overall and better glucose control than non-coffee drinkers.

Coffee contains a number of compounds which interact with the body, including caffeine, diterpenes and antioxidants, and scientists believe some of these have a protective impact.

Dr Gunter added: ‘We are not at the stage of recommending people to drink more or less coffee. That said, our results suggest that moderate coffee drinking – up to around three cups per day – is not detrimental, and that incorporating coffee into your diet could have health benefits.’

US study leader Dr Veronica Setiawan, of Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, said: ‘Coffee contains a lot of antioxidants and phenolic compounds that play an important role in cancer prevention.’</s>Some days, it might feel like your morning coffee is keeping you alive. As it turns out, there could be some scientific truth to this.

According to a large study, published in the journal Annals of Internal Medicine, people who drank more coffee had a reduced risk of death from all causes, particularly circulatory diseases and digestive illnesses.

This doesn't mean that coffee prevents you from dying. But the researchers do note that it should reassure people that their daily dose of caffeine isn't going to kill them, like some lifestyle blogs claim.

The scientists, from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) and Imperial College London, analysed the effect of coffee consumption on the risk of death of over half a million (521,330) people aged 35 and over across 10 European countries. Participants were assessed with questionnaires and interviews about their diets and caffeine habits, and statistical adjustments were made for their lifestyle choices such as smoking and exercise.

After 16 years the researchers followed up with the participants and found that the risk of diseases like heart disease, stroke, and liver disease were lower for those who consumed three or more cups of coffee a day compared to those who drank none. The risk was 18% lower for men, and 8% lower for women at any age.

However, it was unclear whether this was down to the drink itself — the researchers do not know what it is about the coffee that could be causing this effect. Interestingly, the connection was there even when the coffee consumed was decaf.

"Importantly, these results were similar across all of the 10 European countries, with variable coffee drinking habits and customs," said Marc Gunter from the IARC in a statement. Gunter is the lead author of the study and a doctor of cancer epidemiology and prevention. "Our study also offers important insights into the possible mechanisms for the beneficial health effects of coffee," he added.

The highest level of coffee consumption was reported in Denmark, at 900ml per day, while Italy was the lowest at 92ml per day. Coffee drinkers were shown to be younger, smokers, alcohol drinkers, and to eat more meat and less fruit and veg.

Within the study, 14,000 people were tested for biological indicators for why coffee might have a positive effect on the body. The researchers found that coffee drinkers could have healthier livers overall, and better glucose control — meaning their bodies were better at adjusting when they consume sugar.

"We found that drinking more coffee was associated with a more favourable liver function profile and immune response," Gunter said. "This, along with the consistency of the results with other studies in the US and Japan, gives us greater confidence that coffee may have beneficial health effects."

The team now want to look into what compounds in coffee may be giving a potentially beneficial effect. However, due to the limitations and uncertainties remaining, they wouldn't recommend drinking more or less coffee as a result of this research — limitations such as coffee-drinking levels being self-reported, and the fact ill people may drink less coffee by default.

"Due to the limitations of observational research, we are not at the stage of recommending people to drink more or less coffee," Gunter said. "That said, our results suggest that moderate coffee drinking — up to around three cups per day — is not detrimental to your health, and that incorporating coffee into your diet could have health benefits."
Coffee may prolong the human lifespan, suggests one study by Imperial College London and the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and another by the Keck School of Medicine of USC.