Yes, Your Morning Joe Will Help You Live Longer But...
It’s without a doubt America’s addiction. Coffee drinking has reached record heights in 2025 as a recent study found two-thirds of American adults are now daily coffee drinkers. And in the grand scheme of addictions, we could certainly do much worse. That’s because a ten-year study of nearly 50,000 coffee drinkers found the most definitive link yet between coffee drinking and longevity. Specifically, the study found those who drank between 1-3 cups of coffee per day reduced their risk of premature death by 15%-17%! The even better news for those of us who prefer more coffee than a single cup provides...the greatest benefit was derived for those who drank 2-3 cups per day. That’s great news for our highly caffeinated country...but it also doesn’t apply to most coffee drinkers. Or perhaps better stated, the way that most Americans drink coffee.
It’s long been known that coffee’s antioxidants provide positive health benefits for coffee drinkers. The updated study provides the best insight yet into how positive the benefits can be as the antioxidants clearly outweigh the potential negatives that can be derived from caffeine consumption. But what the antioxidants can’t compensate for is all of the stuff we tend to load into our cups along with the coffee.
The key to deriving the health benefits of coffee is to drink it black – or awfully close to it. Coffee still provides health benefits provided that no more than a half a teaspoon of sugar per cup is added - however even a teaspoon per cup negates the benefits. Also, any added cream negated benefits as well. That’s the rub and as for our drinking habit reality...
Only 20% of Americans drink black coffee, or in other words, 80% of coffee drinkers turn what could be a healthy addiction into a potentially unhealthy one. The better news is that if you’re part of that 80%, a little tweak to the way you take your coffee could be the difference to an unhealthy start to your day and one of the most healthful things you do during the day.