Turns out that your daily cup of coffee may actually help you live longer.
According to a recent study from Harvard School of Public Health, drinking several cups of coffee every day may lower the risk of suicide in both men and women by about 50 percent.
“Unlike previous investigations, we were able to assess association of consumption of caffeinated and non-caffeinated beverages, and we identify caffeine as the most likely candidate of any putative protective effect of coffee,” lead researcher Michel Lucas, research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH, said.
Most people drink a few cups of joe to keep their energy levels up throughout the day but turns out that the drink also stimulates the central nervous system and acts as an anti-depressant by boosting production of certain neurotransmitters in the brain. According to researchers, the increased production of serotonin, dopamine and noradrenalin could explain the lower incidences of depression and suicide amongst coffee drinkers.
Researchers say that suicide risk for those who drink two to four cups of coffee per day was about half of those who drink decaffeinated coffee or no coffee at all. (ASK MATT LABASH: Deadly Diet Coke, artificially-sweet lies, and blinding me with science)
But, researchers also cautioned that non-coffee drinkers who experience depression should not jump to consuming excess amounts of coffee, as the dramatic increase in caffeine intake could have negative side effects.