5 cups of coffee a day might make you live longer, study suggests

Scientists say coffee beans could help reduce risk of heart disease, Parkinson’s and Type 2 diabetes

Research has shown moderate consumption of coffee can help prevent some diseases (Getty)

Drinking three to five cups of coffee a day could help people live longer, new research has found.

According to the study conducted by Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee can lower the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, neurological disease such as Parkinson’s, type 2 diabetes and even suicide.

Ming Ding, the PhD student who headed the research, said: "Bioactive compounds in coffee reduce insulin resistance and systematic inflammation.

“That could explain some of our findings. However, more studies are needed to investigate the biological mechanisms producing these effect."

Mr Ding also led a study in 2013 that suggested moderate consumption of caffeine lowered the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

The 2013 study's conclusion that there was no elevated risk of CVD for excessive coffee drinkers is supported by the new research, which has been published in science journal Circulation.

Researchers analysed health data from more than 208,000 participants of three ongoing studies over a period of 30 years. The consumption of coffee was assessed using food questionnaires every four years.

Co-author Frank Hu said: “This study provides further evidence that moderate consumption of coffee may confer health benefits in terms of reducing premature death due to several diseases."

Senior Cardiac Nurse at the British Heart Foundation Emily Reeve said: “It is important to remember that maintaining a healthy lifestyle is what really matters if you want to keep your heart healthy, not how much coffee you drink.

“Previous research suggests that drinking up to five cups of coffee a day is not harmful to your cardiovascular health, and this study supports that. But more research is needed to fully understand how coffee affects our body and what it is in coffee that may affect a person’s risk of heart attack or stroke.”