Drinking 3 Cups Of Coffee A Day Has Life-Saving Potential

Another reason not to wean yourself off your morning cup of joe. Two recent studies independently came to the same conclusion: Drinking three cups of coffee every day reduces your risk of early death.

Both papers were published in the Annals of Internal Medicine on July 9, and showed that a three-cup habit decreased risk of liver disease, circulatory problems, and diseases related to digestion.

Don't get too excited — it's not the caffeine that's doing the magic. Instead, researchers suspect it's an antioxidant found in coffee instead. So the benefits really only derive from coffee, and don't extend to other caffeinated drinks.

By this logic, decaf should be just as effective. Both studies confirmed this suspicion, showing that decaffeinated brews offered the same benefits.

Male participants who drank three cups of coffee every day were found 18 percent less likely to die over the period of the 16 year study than those who drank no coffee. Women, on the other hand, exhibited only an 8 percent reduced chance of death.

In the second study, just one cup of coffee daily was shown to decrease risk of death over the same time period by 12 percent, and three cups resulted in the consistent 18 percent mortality risk reduction.

Dr. Marc Gunter, leader of one of the two studies, is hesitant to draw dramatic conclusions but agrees that the results seem promising. "We are not at the stage of recommending people to drink more or less coffee," he told The Guardian. "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."

Coffee lovers everywhere rejoice: Your addiction just got way healthier.